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CALIFOWIA 
FISH -GAME 


7438:; 


DEPARTMENT  OF  NATUHAL  EESOUECES 
DIVISION  OF  FISH  AND  GAME 


San   Francisco,  California 


Fish   and    Game    Commissioners    appointed    by    the    Governor.      Term    at   pleasure    of 

Governor,     No  compensation 

L    ZELLERBACH,    President San  Franclsca 

REGINALD  S.  FERNAL.D,  Commissioner Santa  Barbara 

JOHN  U  FARLEY,  Elxecutive  Officer San  Francisco 

EUGENE  D.  BENNETT,  Attorney San  Francisco 

Ralph  W.  Scott,  Assistant  Attorney San  Francisco 

510  Russ  Building,  San  Francisco.     Phone  Sutter  6100. 

BUREAU  OF  FISH  CULTURE 

W.  H.  SHEBLEY,  In  Charge San  Franciuco 

J.  H.  Vogt,  Assistant  to  Chief  of  Bureau San  Francisco 

A.  E.  Burghduff,  Field  Superintendent San  Francisco 

L.   Phillips,   E^ield   Superintendent Sacramento 

George  A.   Coleman,   Biologist Berkeley 

Alex  Culver  and  A.  E.  Doney,  Surveyors Sacramento 

G.  H.  Lambson,  Superintendent  Mt.  Shasta  Hatchery  and  Klamath 

River  Stations Mt.  Shasta 

Geo.  McCloud,  Superintendent  Mt.  Whitney  Hatchery Independence 

J.  C.  Lewis,  Superintendent  Fort  Seward  Hatchery Alderpoint 

E.  v.  Cassell.  Foreman  Fall  Creek  Hatchery Copco 

Peter  Topp,  Foreman  Yosemite  Hatchery Yosemite 

C.  L.  Frame,  Foreman  Big  Creek  Hatchery Swanton 

J.  W.  Ricker,  Foreman  Cold  Creek  Hatchery Ukiah 

J.  J.  Shebley,  Foreman  Feather  River  Hatchery Clio 

Ed.    Clessen,   Foreman   Kaweah    Hatchery Three   Rivers 

George  E.  West,  Foreman  Tahoe  Hatchery Tahoe 

Wm.  Berrian,  Foreman  Clear  Creek  Hatchery Westwood 

D.  A.  Clanton,  Foreman  Bear  Lake  Hatchery Pine  Knot 

H.  E.  Cole,  Foreman  Mormon  Creek  Hatchery Sonora 

K.  H.  Shebley,  Foreman  Burney  Creek  Hatchery Burney 

Guy  C.  Ta"bler,  Foreman  Kings  River  Hatchery Fresno 

Raymond  Hadden,  Foreman  Y'uba  River  Hatchery Camptonville 

John  Marshall,  Foreman  Brookdale  Hatchery Brookdale 

James  L.  Stinnett,  Foreman  Beaver  Creek  Station Gottvllle 

Archie  Thompson,  Foreman  at  Mt.  Whitney  Hatchery Independence 

Clarence  A.  Nixon,  General  Foreman  at  Mt.  Shasta  Hatchery Mt.  Shasta 

Donald  Evins,   Superintendent  Distribution  Car  01 Mt.  Shasta 

Ross  McCloud,  Superintendent  Distribution  Car  02 Mt.  Shasta 

BUREAU    OF   COMMERCIAL    FISHERIES 

N.  B.  SCOFIELD,  In  Charge San  Francisco 

H.  B.  Nidever,  Supervising  Captain Terminal  Island 

S.  H.  Dado,   Supervising  Captain San  Francisco 

C.  H.  Groat,  Captain Terminal  Island 

R.  F.  Classic,  Captain Monterey 

Coburn  F.  Maddox,  Captain San  Diego 

W.  L.  Scofield,  Acting  Director  State  Fisheries  Laboratory Terminal  Island 

W.  F.  Thompson,  Consultant,  State  Fisheries  Laboratories Terminal  Island 

Commercial  Fisheries  Patrol 

Paul  Bonnot San  Francisco  Ross  W.  Markley Terminal  Island 

R.  S.  Cleaveland Pismo   Beach  Tate  F.  Miller Terminal  Island 

N.  C.  Kunkel Terminal  Island  L.  G.  Van  Vorhis Terminal  Island 

Launch  Patrol 

Walter  Engelke Launch  "Albacore,"  San  Pedro 

Erol  Greenleaf Launch  "Albacore,"  San  Pedro 

BUREAU    OF   FINANCE   AND   ACCOUNTS 
H.  R.  DUNBAR,  Assistant  Executive  Officer  and  In  Charge Sacramento 

BUREAU  OF  EDUCATION  AND  RESEARCH 

DR.  H.  C.  BRYANT,  In   Charge San  Francisco 

Leo.  K.  Wilson,  Assistant  Director San  Francisco 

Rodney  S.  Ellsworth,  Educational  Assistant ^^San  Franciscp 

D.  D.  McLean,  Field  Naturalist ^_l__San  Francisco 

E.  S.  Cheney,   Photographer ; Oakland 

Paul  A.  Shaw,  Toxicologist San  Francisco 

B.  L.  Sumner,  Jr.,  Assistant  Economic  Zoologist : Berkeley 

Mrs.  Bessie  W.  Kibbe,  Librarian San  Francisco 

BUREAU  OF  GAME   REFUGES 

J.  S.  HUNTER,  In  Charge ^ San  Francisco 

Jay  C.  Bruce,  State  Lion  Hunter San  Lorenzo 

BUREAU    OF    HYDRAULICS 

JOHN   SPENCER,    In   Charge San  Francisco 

Claren-  e   Elliger,   Assistant San  Francisco 

BUREAU   OF  GAME   FARMS 

AUGUST  BADE,  In  Charge Yountville 

E.   D.    Piatt,   Assistant   in   Charge ; Chino 

BUREAU  OF  FISH   RESCUE  AND  RECLAMATION 
GEORGE  NEALE,  In  Charpe Sacramento 


California  Fish  and  Game 

"  CONSERVATION  OF  WILD   LIFE  THROUGH  EDUCATION." 

Volume  16  SACRAMENTO,  APRIL.  1930  No.  2 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


Page 

THE  KIGHT8  OF  THE  AMATEUR  SPORTSMAN WaHcr  R.  Welch  107 

BlOLOCxICAL      SURVEY      OF      THE      LAKES,      RESERVOIRS      AND 

STREAMS  OF  SAN  DIEGO  COUNTY Geo.  A.  Coleman  111 

THE  BURRO  DEER  IN  CALIFORNIA Donald  D.  McLean  119 

PRELIMINARY  REPORT  ON  THE  EARLY  LIFE  HISTORY  OF  THE 

CALIFONIA  SARDINE E.  C.  Scofield  and  M.  J.  Lindner  120 

REPORT  ON  THE  RELATIVE  MERITS  AND  DEMERITS  OF  PURSE 

SEINES  VS.  LAMPARA  NETS  IN  THE  TAKING  OF  SARDINES— 

Paul  linnnot  125 

THE  CALIFORNIA  WHITEBAIT  FISHERY Paul  Bonnot  130 

A  SHOCKING  FISH  TALE Cohurn  F.  Aladdox  136 

SALT-WATER    PERCH    IN    THE    SAN    PEDRO    WHOLESALE    FISH 

MARKETS Frances  N.   Clark  130 

THE  LILY-IRON  RETURNS  TO  MONTEREY  BAY Geo.  Roper  Chute  143 

CONSERVATION  THROUGH  VISUAL  EDUCATION 152 

EDITORIALS    157 

DIVISION  ACTIVITIES   ISO 

LIFE  HISTORY  NOTES 1«3 

COMMERCIAL  FISHERY  NOTES  185 

REPORTS— 

Violations  of  Fish  and  Gamo  Laws 192 

Statement  of  Expenditures 19;; 

Statement  of  Income 19.") 

Fi.shery  Products,  October.  November,  December,  1920 19(5 


THE  RIGHTS  OF  THE  AMATEUR  SPORTSMAN 

By  Waltkr   R.   Wiu.ch 

Without  favoritism,  mankind  was  originall.y  given  dominion  over  all 
game.  There  is  biblical  authority  for  the  assertion  that  originally  man 
was  given  dominion  over  the  fowl  of  the  air.  the  fish  of  the  sea.  and 
the  wild  beasts  of  the  fields,  with  authority  to  subject  all  such  animals 
to  his  use,  comfort  or  pleasure.  For  a  comparatively  brief  period 
thereafter  he,  apparently  in  common  with  others  of  the  race,  exercised 
without  let  or  hindrance  the  right  thus  conferred,  and  made  use  of  the 
wild  beasts,  birds  and  fish  for  food  and  raiment,  so  far  as  the  nature 
and  character  of  the  animals  permitted. 

74.383 


108  CALIFORNIA    VlfiU    AND    GAME 

Animals  ferae  naturae,  however,  like  all  other  species  of  property  of 
any  value,  whether  tangible  or  intanjjible.  were  soon  lost  to  the  gen- 
eralty  of  mankind,  and  all  rights  therein  early  vested  in  various  rulers 
of  the  race  and  such  favored  citizens  as,  at  the  pleasure  of  the  ruler, 
were  granted  the  right  to  hunt  and  possess  different  kinds  of  game  on 
conditions  which  the  sovereign  power  saw  fit  to  impose. 

In  England  this  right  was  asserted  bj'^  her  rulers,  until  l)y  magna 
charta  and  forest  charter  this  assumption  of  property  rights  in  animals 
fe7'ae  naturae  was  surrendered  by  the  sovereign  to  the  general  public, 
with  the  exception  of  the  right  to  control  and  regulate  the  taking  of 
game  for  the  purpose  of  preserving  it  for  the  benefit  of  the  public  at 
large,  which  is  still  retained  by  the  sovereign  power. 

In  this  country  it  is  well  settled  that  all  animals  ferae  naturae  belong 
to  the  states  as  trustees  for  the  public,  and  that  it  is  not  only  the  right, 
but  the  duty  of  the  state  as  such  trustee  so  to  regulate  and  control  the 
taking  of  game  and  fish  as  to  preserve  them  from  wanton  waste  and 
destruction. 

The  ordinary  individual  who  is  not  the  fortunate  possessor  of  land  on 
which  there  is  to  be  found  wild  game,  by  a  somewhat  violent  yet 
conclusive  presumption  of  law,  is  presumed  to  know  that  this  is  a 
species  of  property  of  which,  as  a  citizen  of  this  land  of  the  free,  he  is 
possessed  equally  with  the  other  citizens.  This  great  heritage,  he  is 
informed,  is  the  reason  for  the  enactment  and  enforcement  of  the  game 
laws,  which,  although  in  many  respects  seriously  entrenching  upon 
other  property  rights,  he  cheerfully  acquiesces  in,  since  thereby  his 
property  right  in  wild  game  is  preserved. 

Owing  to  the  nature  of  wild  game  this  right,  at  the  most,  may  be  a 
very  intangible  one,  and  yet  to  many  citizens  it  is  undoubtedly  more  real 
than  other  property  rights.  Of  course  this  property  right  vests  equally 
in  the  resident  of  the  city  or  town,  and  in  his  country  brother.  In  the 
open  season  for  game,  should  the  former,  having  in  mind  this  theory 
as  to  the  title  of  wuld  game,  shoulder  his  gun  and  betake  himself  to  its 
haunts  to  realize  on  his  property  which  the  state  has  so  carefully  pre- 
served for  him,  the  bristling  signs  on  every  hand  confronting  him, 
bearing  the  warning  "No  Hunting  Here,"  will  impress  him  with  the 
fact  that  realization  on  his  property  rights  in  the  wild  game  is  attended 
with  many  serious  difficulties,  unless,  as  in  Frost's  painting,  "The 
Conciliator,"  he  has  had  the  foresight  to  provide  himself  with  the  neces- 
sary flask,  the  presentation  of  which  so  frequently  causes  the  stera — ^^ 
features  of  the  hornj^-handed  owner  of  the  land  to  relax  and  warm 
into  a  welcoming  smile,  as  he  accepts  this  "key"  to  his  hunting  grounds. 

In  any  event,  such  a  property  owner  and  the  hunter  of  wuld  game 
is  apt  to  gain  an  exaggerated  idea  of  the  rights  of  the  owner  of  the 
land  over  which  the  game  roams.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  however,  the 
owner  of  the  land  has  a  very  slight  property  right  in  the  wild  game 
thereon.  Whatever  the  character  of  this  right,  the  land  owner  possesses 
no  right  to  kill  wild  game  out  of  season,  or  otherwise,  in  violation  of  the 
law,  even  on  his  own  land. 

In  the  United  States  the  phrases  "Game  Protection"  and  "Wild  Life 
Conservation"  are  synonymous  terms  and  have  a  distinct  and  well 
understood  meaning  which,  in  effect,  amounts  to  this:  the  enactment 
and  enforcement  of  laws  for  the  preservation  of  all  species  of  birds. 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND   GAME  109 

Hiiimals  and  Hsli  ol'  a  wild  natni-c  for  llic  Itcnofit  of  all  oL'  the  pooplo 
in  common. 

When  we  speak  of  ji:ani('  pi-Dtcction  we  should  kccj)  in  mind  that  there 
are  two  distinct  and  entirely  dift'ci-ent  systems  of  protection  in  vogue 
throughout  the  world.  The  ojie  that  is  already  referred  to,  and  may  be 
termed  the  governmental  system,  whereby  tlu;  supreme  power  of  the 
state  or  nation  decrees  that  the  wikl  game  and  fish  shall  not  be  pro- 
miscuously slaughtered  at  will,  but  only  under  suitable  regulations,  to 
the  end  that  it  be  conserved  in  the  interests  of  all  of  the  people  in 
common.  This  is  the  only  system  we  recognize  at  this  time  in  this 
country.  It  is  the  only  proper  one  for  any  country  wherein  the  people 
are  recognized  as  sovereign,  and  thousands  of  leading  citizens  all  over 
the  United  States  are  Avorking  unselfishly  to  make  this  system  a  com- 
plete success. 

The  other  is  the  private  or  individual  system  of  protection,  by  which 
interested  persons  employ  the  means  at  their  command  and  within  their 
Icnowledge  to  conserve  and  increase  the  supply  of  wild  game  for  their 
own  use  and  benefit,  without  any  consideration  whatever  for  the  general 
public  in  so  doing.  This  latter  system  prevails  largely  in  Great  Britain 
and  on  the  European  continent. 

It  may  be  well  to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  history  shows  that 
the  former  theory  was  anciently  adopted  in  all  European  countries, 
but,  by  reason  of  indifference  upon  the  part  of  the  general  public,  it 
proved  ineffectual  in  conserving  the  game,  and  the  other  system  finally 
supplanted  it.  It  appears  that  the  people  of  those  countries,  like  those 
in  this  country  in  recent  times,  took  little  interest  in  preserving  their 
Avild  game.  They  considered  all  laws  harsh  and  repulsive  to  a  degree, 
and  bent  their  energies  more  in  the  direction  of  pursuing  and  destroy- 
ing game  than  in  protecting  it,  with  the  inevitable  result,  when  the 
scarcity  of  game  became  so  appreciable  as  to  cause  alarm,  the  wealthy, 
aristocratic  class  took  the  matter  in  hand  and  began  to  propagate  and 
protect  game  and  other  w^ld  life  systematically  on  their  great  landed 
estates  for  their  own  private  recreation  and  enjojonent. 

Now,  as  surely  as  the  morning  follows  the  night,  that  same  change 
of  system  will  occur  in  this  state  and  in  every  state  in  the  United 
States  unless  more  active  interest  is  taken  in  our  present  governmental 
system  of  fish  and  game  protection  by  the  people  at  large. 

We  may  see  the  forerunners  now  of  the  private  system  of  game 
protection  in  this  state  and  in  every  state  in  the  United  States.  Immense 
tracts  of  wild  lands  and  marsh  lands  are  being  bought,  leased  and 
otherwise  secured  by  wealthy  sportsmen,  either  individually  or  asso- 
ciated with  others  in  clubs,  for  private  game  preserves,  and  we  hope  the 
public  in  general  is  awakening  to  the  true  significance  of  this  movement. 

But  it  will  not  do  to  condemn  these  sportsmen  when  we  remain 
wholly  indifferent  to  the  cause  that  is  back  of  this  move.  We  should  first 
prevent  the  cause  and  then  the  effect  will  not  follow.  As  long  as  there 
is  a  fair  supply  of  game  and  wild  life  for  all  classes,  there  will  be  no 
incentive  for  this  individual  system  of  game  protection ;  but  when  the 
game  fields  and  public  waters  become  depleted  of  game,  fish  and  other 
wild  life,  the  incentive  to  establish  private  game  preserves  is  very  great. 

The  question  is :  Can  the  governmental  system  of  wild  life  protection 
and  conservation  be  made  a  success  ?    In  other  words,  can  a  fair  supply 


110  CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND    GAME 

of  fish,  game  and  wild  life  for  all  of  the  people  be  preserved  and 
maintained  b}'  means  of  wise  laws? 

"With  a  single  qualification,  we  answer  emphatically  "Yes." 

The  qualification  consists  in  this:  Concurrently  w^ith  the  enactment 
of  the  laws,  we  must  establish  a  campaign  of  education  to  bring  public 
sentiment  over  to  the  support  of  the  laws. 

The  people  must  be  made  to  appreciate  the  real  value  of  a  supply  of 
wild  life  to  themselves,  individually  and  collectively. 

The  public  must  be  given  to  understand  that  the  fish  and  game  laws 
are  enacted  for  the  general  public  good,  and  not  in  the  interest  of  any 
privileged  feAv  or  special  class. 

Thus  enlightened,  public  sentiment  will  exercise  its  powerful  influ- 
ence for  the  enactment  of  sane,  simple  and  scientific  laws  that  will 
protect  and  conserve  the  fish,  game  and  wild  life  supply  of  the  state, 
for  the  benefit  and  enjoyment  of  all  of  the  people  of  the  state. 

"We  now  come  to  what,  in  the  past,  has  proven  to  be  a  fatal  weakness 
in  our  governmental  system  of  fish,  game  and  wild  life  protection,  viz., 
the  lack  of  proper  public  sentiment  and  support  for  the  strict  enforce- 
ment of  the  laws. 

It  ought  not  be  necessary  to  call  attention  to  a  matter  which  should 
appeal  to  ordinary  reason  as  an  obvious  fact,  and  common  sense  should 
dictate  that  fish  and  game  laws  are  of  no  value  as  such  to  accomplish 
anything  w'ithout  being  enforced. 

Of  W'hat  avail  are  laws  for  the  protection  and  conservation  of  fish, 
game  and  wild  life,  unless  properly  and  strictly  enforced? 

Annually  individuals  and  representatives  of  associations  and  clubs 
appear  before  their  state  legislature  in  the  interest  of  fish,  game  and 
wild  life  legislation,  and  labor  unceasingly  for  the  enactment  of  new 
laws.  Yet,  after  the  enactment  of  such  laws,  how  many  individuals, 
associations  or  clubs  do  we  find  exerting  themselves  in  the  least  tow'ard 
securing  public  sentiment  in  support  of  the  laws,  or  for  those  whose 
duty  it  is  to  enforce  them  ? 

The  truth  is  that  the  enforcement  of  the  laws  is  the  prime  necessity 
and  the  prerequisite  to  the  success  of  any  governmental  sj'stem  of  fish, 
game  and  w'ild  life  protection,  without  which  all  other  efforts  are  fore- 
doomed to  utter  failure. 

By  enforcement  of  the  laws  we  do  not  mean  sporadic  attempts  to 
enforce  the  laws,  but  vigorous,  continuous,  consistent  efforts  to  obtain 
their  full  benefit.  Nothing  is  so  conducive  toward  educating  the  public 
as  to  the  value  of  wild  life  as  a  rigid  enforcement  of  the  laws. 

"When  those  who  violate  the  law  are  brought  to  book  for  their  offenses 
they  are  quite  apt  to  give  the  matter  s;oino  study  and  reflection,  which  in 
the  end  will  convince  them  and  their  friends  of  th(>  eri'or  of  their  ways. 

There  is  no  way  of  testing  the  efficiency  or  benefit  of  a  law  save  by  its 
rigid,  continuous  and  consistent  enforcement.  If  strict  enforcement  of 
the  law  proves  it  to  be  defective  for  its  intended  purpose,  then  it  should 
be  amended  or  repealed.  Otherwise  there  is  no  means  of  securing 
accurate  information  on  the  subject. 

The  constant  changing  of  fish  and  game  laws  at  each  recurring  ses- 
sion of  the  state  legislature,  without  a  practical  test  of  the  law,  has  been 
the  one  serious  evil  in  the  past.  It  seems  to  have  become  a  prevailing 
fashion,  when  one  state  enacts  an  experimental  fish  or  game  law,  for 
the  other  states  to  follow  suit  and  do  likewise  without  any  thought  for 
the  local  conditions. 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND   GAME  111 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  however,  it  often  happens  that  what  would  he  a 
wise  and  beneficial  measure  in  one  state  to  meet  conditions  which  there 
prevail  may  prove  utterly  foolish  and  disastrous  in  another  state, 
where  the  conditions  are  wholly  different. 

Some  of  the  sponsors  of  experimental  fish  and  jjame  laws  are  mere 
theorists  who  have  no  practical  knowledge  of  the  etfect  of  the  measures 
they  advocate,  and  are  unfamiliar  with  the  conditions  that  exist 
even  in  their  own  communities. 

Tn  the  past,  fish  and  game  laws  Avere  considered  to  be  more  or  less 
of  a  novelty  or  farce,  and  the  matter  of  their  enforcement  a  joke,  with 
the  result  that  it  was  difficult  to  impress  the  majority  of  the  people  as 
to  the  value  and  necessity  of  the  laws.  This  sentiment  on  the  part  of 
the  general  public  made  the  enforcement  of  the  laws  an  onerous  and 
difficult  task  for  those  Avliose  duty  it  its  to  execute  the  law. 

While  it  is  true  that  the  title  to  all  wild  game  is  in  the  state,  and 
that  the  owner  of  the  land  on  which  it  dwells  or  roams  has  only  a 
qualified  property  interest  in  it,  as  he  has  a  right  to  exercise  inclusive 
and  absolute  domain  over  his  landed  estate,  so  he  has  a  right  to  protect 
the  wild  life  upon  it ;  therefore  he  has  the  power  to  prohibit  any  and 
every  person  from  shooting  upon  his  lands. 

Where  the  woods  and  wild  lands  have  been  supplanted  by  orchards, 
vineyards  and  fields  of  waving  grain,  the  farmer  stands  guard  and  the 
"No  Hunting"  sign  confronts  the  sportsman  today. 

While  there  is.  and  of  right  ought  to  be,  a  limit  to  the  landowner's 
right  to  control  the  wild  game  on  his  lands,  the  time  has  not  yet  come 
in  this  country  for  a  landowner  to  open  fire  upon  an  amateur  sports- 
man and  make  his  wife  a  widow  and  his  children  orphans.  There  are 
not,  however,  indications  that  we  are  moving  in  that  direction. 

Submitting  all  the  facts  to  a  candid  world,  it  is  respectfully  urged 
upon  all  amateur  sportsmen  that  they  respect  the  rights  of  the  farmer 
and  landowner,  and  that  they  appreciate  the  privileges  granted  to  the 
sportsmen  by  them,  or  the  acts  of  vandalism  committed  by  irrespon- 
sible hunters  on  the  lands  of  the  farmer  and  landowner  may  lead  to  the 
enactment  of  more  rigid  laws  for  the  protection  of  the  farmer 's  property, 
and  thus  further  curtail  the  present  rights  of  the  amateur  s])ortsman. 


BIOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  LAKES,  RESERVOIRS 
AND  STREAMS  OF  SAN  DIEGO  COUNTY 

By  Geo.  A.  Coleman 

In  January,  1927,  I  began  a  study  of  the  lakes,  reservoirs  and  streams 
of  San  Diego  County  in  order  to  determine  the  exact  conditions  existing 
therein  as  a  basis  for  stocking  with  the  proper  varieties  of  fish. 

As  the  most  of  these  lakes  and  reservoirs  are  the  source  of  the 
domestic  water  supply  of  the  city  of  San  Diego  and  adjacent  territory, 
their  stocking  with  fish  presents  a  serious  problem.  The  water  supply 
must  be  kept  clean  and  sanitary,  which  involves  treatment  regularly 
during  the  summer  months  with  copper  sulphate  and  continuous 
chlorination.  The  effect  of  these  treatments  on  the  fish  and  fish  food 
has  been  a  very  interesting  study.  For  the  purpose  of  a  better  under- 
standing of  the  problem,  the  field  data  on  each  lake,  reservoir  and 
stream  is  appended  as  completely  as  I  have  been  able  to  make  it  up  to 
the  present  time,  along  with  the  results  of  some  of  the  fish  planting. 


112  CALIFOKMA    FISH    AND    GAME 

During  the  past  week,  January  20-25,  1930,  I  have  visited  again 
some  of  these  reservoirs  and  had  a  chance  to  observe  the  pond-holding 
system  now  in  use  and  the  results  of  holding  trout  fry  in  these  ponds 
during  the  past  two  months. 

The  holding  ponds  in  use  in  Upper  and  Lower  Otay  lakes  received 
my  particular  attention.  Both  of  these  ponds  are  described  in  the 
preliminary  report  and  it  is  unnecessary  to  repeat  here,  since  they  are 
both  in  the  same  condition  as  in  1927. 

On  November  21,  1929,  these  holding  ponds  were  stocked  with  brown 
trout  from  a  shipment  of  approximately  50,000  tinge rlings  made  by  the 
Division  of  Fish  and  Game  from  ]\It.  Shasta  Hatchery.  Mr.  Webb 
Toms,  deputy  in  charge  of  these  holding  ponds,  informs  me  that  15,000 
of  this  shipment  were  placed  in  the  cement  holding  pond  at  the  Upper 
Otay  Dam  and  the  balance,  35,000,  in  the  cement  holding  pond  at 
Lower  Otay. 

The  pond  at  Upper  Otay  Dam  receives  its  water  through  a  small  pipe 
located  about  midway  in  the  dam  between  the  bottom  and  top.  This 
water  is  not  chlorinated  and  no  copper  sulphating  has  been  done  for 
some  time.  On  the  occasion  of  my  visit  to  it  on  January  21,  1930,  I 
tasted  the  water  and  observed  the  odor  and  found  nothing  objectionable 
in  either. 

I  took  specimens  of  the  fish  in  this  pond,  the  average  of  100  or  more, 
which  I  found  to  be  in  good  physical  condition.  In  the  lot  cap- 
tured were  two  five  inches  or  over  in  length,  but  the  great  bulk  of 
them,  probably  95  per  cent,  ran  from  two  and  one-half  to  three  and 
one-half  inches  in  length.  Just  as  in  any  pond  system,  where  no  effort 
is  made  to  segregate  them  from  time  to  time  according  to  sizes,  they 
are  of  all  sizes,  and  an  examination  of  the  stomachs  of  the  larger  speci- 
mens would  reveal  the  remains  of  many  of  their  lesser  fellows. 

The  holding  pond  at  Lower  Otay  is  the  same  as  described  in  my 
report  of  January,  1927,  and  the  same  as  mentioned  in  the  article  by 
Mr.  Muehliesen  in  California  Fish  and  Game,  October,  1929,  pp.  314- 
316,  Fig.  104. 

This  pond  now  receives  its  water  supply  from  the  main  pipeline  and 
is  taken  off  just  below  the  chlorination  plant.  As  it  is  less  than  1000 
feet  from  the  chlorination  plant,  the  water  supplying  the  pond  receives 
the  full  dosage  of  chlorination  daily.  Consequently  the  35,000  brown 
trout  fry  placed  in  this  holding  pond  November  21,  1929,  did  not  do 
as  well  or  make  as  good  gro-\^i:h  as  those  in  the  pond  at  Upper  Otay. 
On  January  15,  1930,  Mr.  Toms  sent  specimens  of  these  trout,  which,  on 
examination,  showed  symptoms  of  having  been  gassed.  On  January  21, 
1930,  in  company  with  Mr.  Toms  and  Mr.  R.  C.  Wueste,  supervisor  of 
the  water  impounding  system  of  the  city  of  San  Diego,  I  investigated 
the  conditions  at  the  Lower  Otay  Dam  and  Pond.  I  found  that  the 
pond  had  not  been  cleaned  since  the  fish  were  put  in  two  months  before. 
There  was  a  great  accumulation  of  algae  on  the  bottom  and  walls  of  the 
pond,  which  they  were  endeavoring  to  clear  up  by  the  use  of  copper 
sulphate.  Mr.  Wueste  stated  that  on  December  28,  1929,  there  occurred 
a  great  overdosage  of  chlorine  in  the  water  in  the  pipeline  and  that  the 
water  in  the  holding  ])ond  received  the  full  dosage.  Mr.  Toms  reported 
that  the  fry  in  the  pond  innuediately  showed  signs  of  distress  by  whirl- 
ing rapidly  around,  finally  coming  to  rest  with  the  head  down,  in  which 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND   GAME  113 

position  tliey  died  and  sank  to  the  bottom,  where  they  turned  black 
in  a  very  short  time.  They  died  off  so  rapidly  that  on  January  17 
what  were  left,  estimated  at  5000,  were  turned  out  into  the  lake. 

Mr.  Toms  reported  that  the  steelhead  fry  placed  in  the  small  pontoon 
cages  at  Barrett  Lake  were  not  doing  as  Avell,  or  making  the  growth,  as 
the  brown  trout  in  the  pond  at  Upper  Otay. 

Under  date  of  January  23,  1930,  Mr.  Wueste  wrote  me  as  follows:  "I 
am  a  believer  in  making  haste  slowly  about  some  things.  This  is 
especially  true  of  (piestious  which  have  good  arguments  on  both  sides 
and  require  a  considerable  time  to  deteriuine  by  actual  experiment. 
One  such  question  in  my  mind  is  the  efficacy  and  economic  wisdom  of 
trout  planting  in  San  Diego  County.  T  expect  some  time  later  this  year 
to  compile  data  on  trout  jibinting  in  Han  Diego  County,  with  results 
to  the  fishing  public.  It  occurs  to  me  that  an  equal  amount  of  time, 
effort  and  money  devoted  to  fishes  more  suitable  to  the  local  environ- 
ment might  have  yielded  immensely  more  satisfactory  results. 

"What  is  your  opinion  on  the  suitability  of  the  large  and  small- 
mouthed  black  bass  in  San  Diego  County .'  Also,  what  other  fishes  do 
you  believe  would  thrive  equally  well  here  and  get  along  neighborly 
with  the  black  bass  ? " 

CONCLUSIONS   AND    RECOMMENDATIONS 

It  is  very  evident  from  a  study  of  the  data  obtained  in  the  survey  of 
these  lakes  and  reservoirs  that  the  temperature,  food  and  other  condi- 
tions make  them  more  suitable  in  general  for  bass,  crappie,  bluegill, 
sunfish  and  perch  than  for  trout.  Tjake  Cuyamaca  is  the  only  real  trout 
lake  in  the  county. 

The  effort  to  stock  these  lakes  with  trout  is,  therefore,  an  attempt 
under  the  handicap  of  natural  conditions  and,  while  it  may  succeed 
to  a  limited  extent  with  the  brown  trout,  which  is  the  only  species  of 
trout  in  any  Avay  suited  to  the  conditions  in  most  of  these  reservoirs, 
it  is  bounil  to  be  an  expensive  undertaking,  both  in  money  and  fish. 

It  seems  to  me  that  much  more  satisfactory  results  would  be  obtained 
by  working  with  nature  in  the  stocking  and  maintenance  of  species  of 
fish  in  each  lake  which  are  suitable  to  the  enviroiniicntal  conditions  in 
that  lake. 

The  bass,  crappie,  bluegill,  perch  and  several  species  of  sunfish  will 
.stand  a  much  stronger  dosage  of  copper  sulphate  than  trout.  Since 
nearly  all  of  these  lakes  require  treatment  with  copper  sulphate  during 
the  warm  summer  months  and  continuous  daily  chlorination,  these 
species  of  fish  would  be  much  more  likely  to  succeed  under  the  condi- 
tions than  trout.  The  natural  food  in  these  lakes  is  also  just  what  is 
required  by  these  fish. 

As  a  further  and  conclusive  ai-gunient  in  favor  of  bass,  crappie, 
perch,  sunfish  and  bluegill,  especially  the  latter,  they  are  species  of  fish 
which  can  be  caught  with  little  effort  by  people  who  are  not  expert 
sport  fishermen,  but  who  enjoy  catching  and  eating  a  few  fish.  As  the 
city  of  San  Diego  is  anxious  to  promote  general  camping,  picnicking, 
boating  and  fisliing  at  these  lakes  and  reservoirs,  it  seems  to  me 
this  is  the  solution  of  the  problem. 

Berkeley,  California,  January  :^(t,  1930. 


114  CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND    GAME 

FIELD     NOTES     ON      BIOLOGICAL     SURVEY     OF     LAKES,      RESERVOIRS     AND 
STREAMS   OF    SAN    DIEGO   COUNTY    (PRELIMINARY    REPORT) 

January  20  to  26,   1927. 

RESERVOIRS:  Upper  and  Lower  Otay  lakes.  Located  19-21  miles  southeast  of 
San  Diego. 

Upper  Otay:  Elevation,  521  feet.  Temperature  of  water,  57.8°  F.  Capacity,  one 
billion  gallons.  Frei-sh  water  algae:  Baclllariaceae  (diatoms),  very  abundant; 
(Closterium),  abundunt  ;  Spirotryra,  Zyaniniu.  etc.,  abundant.  Planlclon  :  Water 
fleas  {Daphnia  pulex),  very  abundant.  Qopepods :  Cyclops  biacuspidatus,  abundant. 
Diaptomus  bakeri,  very  abundant.  (20  minutes  towing  yielded  1  ounce  solid  material.) 
Fish :  Black  bass,  crappie  and  bluegill  planted  here  are  reported  to  be  doing  fine ; 
no  tnmt. 

Lower  Otay:  Elevation,  399  feet.  Temperature  of  water,  57.8°  F..  Capacity,  19 
billion  gallons.  Sample  at  50  feet,  dissolved  oxygen=:98%  saturation;  carbon  dioxide 
=20  pts.  per  million.  Sample  at  20  feet,  dis.solved  oxygen==118.2%  saturation; 
carbon  dioxide=20  pts.  per  million.  Sample  at  107  feet,  dissolved  oxygen=98% 
saturation  :  carbon  dioxide=20  pts.  vev  million.  Hydrogen-ion-concentration  of  all 
samples=Ph.  7.8    (slightly  allmline). 

F'resh  water  algae:  Baclllariaceae  (diatoms)  very  abundant  in  surface  water. 
Closterium,  very  abundant. 

Plankton:  Water  fleas  {Daphnia  pulcx),  very  abundant.  Oopepods  (Cyclops 
bicuspidatus ) ,  very  abundant.  (Diaptomus  bakeri)  (found  at  50-107  ft.  depth). 
(20  minutes  towing  yielded   1  oz.  solid  material.) 

Fish  :  Black  bass,  crappie  and  bluegill  said  to  be  fairly  abundant.  Trout  intro- 
duced here  seem  to  be  very  scarce,  which  is  laid  to  bass  eating  the  fry.* 

Larger  insects:  Dragon  fly  larvae  abundant  in  algae  along  shore. 

Higher  crustaceans:  The  "Scud"  (Hyalella  knickcrbockeri)  was  dredged  up  from 
the  bottom  in  15  feet  of  water  and  seemed  lo  be  fairly  abundant  on  ai^ae  covered 
limbs. 

TROUT  NURSERY  POND:  At  lower  Otay  Dam.  This  pond  is  one  of  the  best  I 
have  seen.  Cemented  sides  and  bottom,  water  well  aerated  by  a  continuous  stream 
from  hydrant  and  tiny  streams  from  an  encircling  water  pipe  :  shade  furnished  by 
a  covered  pergola.  Fresh  water  algae  are  very  abundant ;  spirogyra,  zygnema,  etc., 
forming  a  thick  mass  on  the  bottom  at  present,  which  later  spreads  over  the  surfa,ce. 
Plankton :   Water   fleas ;    wheel   animalculae  ;   ciliate   protozoa  ;   very   abundant. 

The  trout  fingerlings  here  look  very  well  (only  a  few  with  fungus  spots).  They 
vary  in  size  from  3  to  6  inches.  Only  a  few  hundred  could  be  seen.  Still  being  fed, 
althougli  there  is  an  abundance  of  natural  food. 

HOLDING  POND  AT  UPPER  OTAY  DAM.  This  pond  is  on  the  lower  side  of  the 
upper  Otay  Dam,  receiving  its  water  through  a  pipe  from  the  reservoir  above.  It  is 
constructed  by  using  the  natural  rock  wall  on  the  upper  side,  while  the  outer  side 
is  of  concrete;  bottom  of  earth  and  concrete.  It  is  about  8  feet  in  depth  and  20 
feet  long.  All  the  aeration  the  water  gets  is  what  is  brouglit  in  at  the  surface  from 
the  inch  pipe  supply.  Tlie  lower  third  of  this  tank  is  now  covered  by  boards,  which 
are  not  shown   in  the  photograph. 

Just  as  in  all  other  ponds,  the  large  trout  eat  the  small  ones,  only  a  few  hundred 
being  visible  when  fed.  They  are  of  all  sizes  from  3  to  6  inches  in  length,  except  that 
here  the  small  seem  to  predominate.  Mr.  Toms  says  they  do  not  grow  as  fast  here  as 
in  the  pontoon  cages.  The  natural  feed  is  not  very  abundant  in  this  pond.  There  is 
no  way  of  cleaning  it ;  hence  in  all  probability  the  bacteria  of  decomposition  use  up 
the  oxygen  which  would  otherwise  be  available  for  the  trout.  No  attempt  at  segre- 
gation has  been  made  in  this  tank.  As  it  is  a  hundred  feet,  oi-  more  above  the  level 
of  the  water  in  the  lower  reservoir,  it  will  be  necessary  to  dip  the  trout  fry  out  when 
fliey  are  to  be  planted,  ,nnd  T  am  not  sure  that  any  way  was  provided  for  drawing 
down  the  water  in  order  to  do  this. 

PONTOON  CAGES  AT  LOWER  OTAY.  These  cages  are  constructed  as  follows  : 
A  framework  of  2  by  4,  covered  with  a  very  fine  meshed  screen  on  the  sides  and 
bottom;  top  covered  with  heavy  chicken  wire  over  which  removable  boards  are  laid. 
Mounted  on  woodpipe  pontoons,  with  screw  lever.s  at  each  corner  so  that  they  can 
be  raised  ont  of  the  water  for  cleaning  and  lowered  again  without  disturbing  the 
fry  in  any  way. 

Size  20  feet  by  20  feet  by  10  feet  in  depth  and  when  lowered  there  is  about  eight 
feet  of -water  in  the  cage.  They  can  be  moved  about  and  anchored  anywhere,  which 
is  a  great  advantage  during  warm  weather.  The  only  trouble  seems  to  be  in  getting 
a  good  circulation  of  water  through  them  (on  account  of  the  fine  meshed  wire). 
r)uring  the  warm  summei-,  when  the  surface  is  very  quiet,  it  is  absolutely  necessary 
that  some  means  of  circulating  and  aerating  the  water  be  provide<l.  This  was 
accomplished  this  last  summer  by  running  an  Evenrude  at  one  end.  A  better  plan, 
it  seems  to  me,  and  I  so  recommended,  would  be  to  provide  a  pipe  coming  up  through 
the  bottom  and  producing  a  spray  over  the  surface.  A  small  electric  centrifugal 
pump,  with  which  the  cooler  water  from  the  bottom  could  be  brought  up  and 
sprayed  over  the  surface  of  the  water  inside  the  tank  would,  I  believe,  solve  the 
problem.  The  trout  in  this  cage  are  in  fine  condition,  larger,  4  to  7  inches  in  lengrth. 
than  in  either  of  the  ponds. 

I  believe,  therefore,  that  the  cage,  provided  the  suggested  improvements  for 
aerating  the  water  are  made,  is  the  solution  of  raising  trout  in  these  lakes  to  a 
larger  size.  However,  the  cage  is  subject  to  the  same  objection  as  the  pond,  viz, 
the  larger  fry  will  eat  the  smaller.  The  only  way  to  overcome  this  difficulty  is  to 
put  movable  partitions  in  the  cage  made  of  wire  mesh.     This,  together  with  a  separat- 

•I  believe  that  on  account  of  the  abundance  of  the  above  bottom  feed  it  will  be 
found  on  Investigation  that  the  trout  are  at  the  bottom  feeding  this  time  of  year  and 
possibly  in  the  warm  summer  months  and  have  not  been  destroyed  by  the  bass. 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND    GAME  115 

liig  screen  of  wire  mesh  vvhifh  will  permit  s«paratins  the  smaller  ones  from  the 
larg-er  without  handling  thorn  at  all,  will,  I  believe,  make  the  cage  the  Ideal 
arrangement. 

MURRAY  RBS'ER^'OIR.  Located  10  miles  northeast  of  San  Diego.  Elevation  440 
ft'et.     Capacitv  2  billion  prallon.s.     Temporature  of  water  55.0°   F. 

Fresh  water  algae:  Bacillariaceae  (diatoms),  very  abundant;  Fragillaria  croto- 
ne7isis  (floating  colonies),  very  abundant. 

Plankton:  Water  fleas  (Daphnia  pulex),  very  abundant;  Copepods  {Dmptonius 
bakeri),  very  abundant;  Wheel  animalculae  (Anarthera  aptera)  common;  Protozoan 
flagellates,  common  ;   Volvo.i  prriilobatoi-,  forming  green  scum. 

Fish:  Bas.s,  crappie  and  bluegill,  .said  to  be  doing  fine. 

Pontoon  cages  are  not  so  elaborate  as  the  one  in  l(nver  Olay.  A  large  one  and 
two  smaller  ones  have  been  provided  and  an  attempt  at  segregating  was  made.  When 
they  were  separated  about  a  month  ago.  only  six  hundred  large  ones  were  found 
and  removed  to  one  of  the  smaller  cages.  "The  thou.sands"  left  were  called  up  to 
feed,  but  only  a  few  hundred  were  visible.  What  I  did  see  were  all  sizes  from  3  to  5 
inches  in  length. 

Recommendations :  The  same  objections  apply  to  these  cages  as  to  the  one 
at  lower  Otay,  viz,  no  means  provided  for  circulation  of  the  water.  If,  therefore, 
it  is  desired  to  keep  the  trout  fry  during  warm  weather,  it  will  be  necessay  to  provide 
means  of  aerating  the  water,  and  the  same  plan  as  outlined  for  the  lower  Otay 
would  apply  here.  Otherwi.se,  it  will  be  neces.sary  to  turn  the  fry  out  before  hot 
weather  comes  on. 

B.ARRETT  L-'VKE.  Location  40  miles  east  of  San  Diego.  Elevation  1306  feet. 
Capacity,  14,500,000,000  gallons.  Temperature  of  water,  49°  F.  Color  of  water, 
very  murky.  Bottom:  Mud  and  muck  of  dark  colored  decaying  vegetation,  with 
odor  of  HoS.     No  large  green  plants. 

Fresh  water  algae :  Very  sparse  (a  small  amount  of  spirogyra  on  rocks  around 
part  of  shoreline). 

Plankton:  Practically  all  of  the  tow-net  plankton  collected  from  tlie  .surface  con- 
sisted of  one  species  of  water  flea  (Chydorus  popri)  a  species  not  found  in  any  other 
lake  or  reservoir.  Daphnia  pulex,  found  in  abundance  in  other  lakes  is  here  very 
scarce.    Likewise,  Cyclops  hicuspidatus ,  abundant  in  other  lakes,  is  here  very  rare. 

Insects  :  The  only  insect  found  in  any  abundance  was  the  "red  larvae,"  a  species 
of  Chironomus  found  in  abundance  in  the  bottom  mud.  This  species  is  the  same  as 
the  one  found  in  mud  potholes  in  Clear  Lake,  Lake  County  ;  hence  indicates  that 
very  much  the  same  condition  occurs  here,  viz,  an  accumulation  of  decaying  vegeta- 
tion in  the  deeper  holes  and  potholes  in  shallow  water.  There  is.  in  this  lake,  a  very 
greatly  unbalanced  condition,  owing  to  the  lack  of  green  vegetation  of  the  higher 
plants,  and  of  fresh  water  algae,  which  would  cause  a  lack  of  oxygen  and  an  over- 
supply  of  carbon  dioxide. 

Fish :  The  effect  of  the  above  conditions  was  well  illustrated  following  the  last 
rain,  when  the  keeper  took  out  77  dead  perch  which  had  floated  up  around  the  dock. 
I  found  one  which  had  been  dead  for  some  time  and  was  covered  with  a  heavy  growth 
of  white  fungus. 

Recommendations :  If  it  is  desirable  to  stock  this  lake  with  fish,  it  will  be 
necessary  to  change  the  above  conditions  by  the  planting  of  green  vegetation  around 
the  upper  end,  especially  where  the  Cottonwood  Creek  and  other  creek.s  enter,  viz. 
such  plants  as  crowfoot,  potamogeton  and  watercress,  which  would  gradually  spread 
and  furnish  a  place  for  insect  life  to  breed.  Something  could  also  be  done  in  the 
way  of  removing  dead  trees  and  bushes  from  the  upper  end  and  coves. 

MORENO  RESERVOIR:  Location,  59  miles  southeast  of  San  Diego.  Elevation: 
2915  feet.     Capacity:  17.333,000,000  gallon.s.     Temperature  of  water  4fi.4°   F. 

Fresh  water  algae:  Bacillariaceae  (diatoms)  abundant;  Cladophora  sp.,  abundant 
on   rocks. 

Plankton:  Practically  the  entire  tow  net  plankton  collected  from  the  surface  con- 
sisted of  two  species,  Daphnia  pulex  and  Diaptornus  bakeri-  These  are  very  abundant  ; 
however,  20  minutes  towing  resulted  in  about  2  ounces  of  solid  material. 

Insect  life:  The  larger  water  insect  larvae,  Dragon  and  damsel  Hies,  water  bugs, 
etc.,  are  very  abundant  around  tlie  upper  and  southeast  shoreline,  where  there  is  a 
great  area  of  submerged  grass  land  and  green  vegetation. 

,  The  only  trouble  here,  so  far  as  I  could  see,  would  be  the  varying  conditions  pro- 
duced by  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  lake,  which  may  amount  to  as  much  as  forty  feet. 
It  is  about  forty  feet  below  the  overflow  of  the  dam  at  present  and  is  likely  to  remain 
.so  for  a  long  time  to  come. 

Fish  :  There  are  said  to  be  sunfish  and  small  minnows  in  tliis  reservoir  in  great 
abundance.  It  has  been  planted  entirely  with  the  brown  trout,  which  have  not 
begun  to  show  up  very  much  as  yet ;  that  is,  they  are  not  readily  caught ;  therefore, 
"very  scarce."  Deputy  Olidden  caught  f)ne  about  16  inches  long  last  summer,  which 
he  said  was  fat  and  in  fine  condition  physically. 

Recommendations :  That  the  planting  of  the  brown  trout  be  continued  here, 
to  the  exclusion  of  other  trout,  just  to  make  a  test  case  of  whether  they  can  exist 
and  increase. 

LAKE  HENSHAW:  Location,  66  miles  northeast  of  San  Diego.  Elevation,  2650 
feet.     Capacity,  53,500.000.000  gallons.     Temperature  of  water,  46.4°  F. 

Blue  green  algae   (Clathrocp.stus)  very  abundant. 

Fresh  water  algae:  Bacillariaceae  (diatoms)  abundant.  Bacillae,*  several 
species,  mostly  rod  .shape,  very  abundant  along  ujlli  the  blue  green  algae  in  surface 
water. 


♦The  presence  of  these  bacclllae  along  with  the  blue  green  algae  would  Indicate 
that  there  is  a  very  heav\'  growth  of  fresh  water  algae  and  all  plankton  durlncr  the 
summer  months  which  dies  down  and  sinks  at  the  approach  of  winter  conditions, 
producing  a  mass  of  decaying  matter  from  which  these  bacteria  obtain  their  food, 
but  which  they  are  working  over  into  assimilable  food  for  the  new  crops  of  algae 
and  plankton. 


116  CALIFORNIA    PISH    AND    GAME 

Plankton:  Water  fleas  (Daphnia  pulex),  very  abundant.  Copepods  (Cyclops 
bicuspidat^is)  (Diaptotmis  bakeri).  about  equally  abundant  and  sufficient  at  present 
for  a  good  supply  of  fish  food. 

It  would  appear  that  there  is  an  abundant  supply  of  food  for  all  kinds  of  fish  in 
this  lake.  The  only  danger  being  that  they  are  smothered  with  the  heavy  growth 
during  the  summer. 

LAKE  CUYAMACA:  Location,  56  miles  southeast  of  San  Diego.  Elevation,  4fiOO 
feet.     Capacity,  3,500,000,000  gallons.     Temperature  of  water,   44.6'  F. 

Fresh  water  algae:  Bacillariaceae  (diatoms),  abumlant ;  Desmids  (Closterium 
sp.),  abundant;  Spirogyra,  abundant;  Zyfinema,  abundant. 

Plankton:  Protozoa  (ciliate),  very  al)undant,  several  species;  Wheel  animalculeae 
(several  species),  very  abundant;  water  fleas  (Daphnia  p^dcx),  vory  abundant; 
(Chydorus  popei),  a  few;  Copepods  (Cyclops  bicuspiflatus),  (Diaptomus  bakeri), 
both  very  abundant. 

Fish:  Rainbow  and  steelhead,  both  doing  fine.      Tliis  is  a  real  trout  lake. 

Holding  Pond  :  Was  submerged  in  storm  and  fish  escaped. 

Recommendations :    That    the    planting    of    rainbow    and    steelhead    be    continued. 

SWEETWATER  LAKE.  Location,  10  miles  southeast  of  San  Diego.  Elevation, 
142  feet.     Capacity,  10,000,000,000  gallons.     Temperature  of  water,  53.6°  F. 

F'resh  water  algae:  Bacillariaceae  (diatoms)  very  abundant;  Spirogyra  and 
Zygnetna,  abundant. 

Plankton  :  Copepods  ;  Daphnia  pulex  and  Diaptomus  hakeri,  in  about  equal  numbers 
form  the  entire  net  plankton.  They  are  about  ten  times  as  abundant  here  as  in  any 
other  lake,  which  is  presumably  due  to  the  lower  elevation  and  higher  temperature 
of  the  water  at  this  time  of  year. 

Water  insects :  All  kinds  are  very  plentiful. 

Fish :  Sunflsh  and  perch  are  exceedingly  abundant.  Crappie  and  bluegill  need 
replenishing.     This  would  be  a  good  bass  lake,  but  I  would  not  recommend  it  for  trout. 

LAKE  HODGES  AND  SAN  DIEGUITO  RESERVOIR,  not  visited. 

RIVERS  AND  STREAMS.  The  San  Diego  River  probably  carries  the  largest 
amount  of  water  during  the  winter  months,  but  goes  entirely  dry  very  early  in  the 
season.  A  large  dam  is  being  constructed,  which  will  make  a  very  large  reservoir 
on  this  river.  Another  dam  is  also  being  constructed  on  a  tributary,  which  will 
also  make  a  reservoir. 

Up  the  coast,  Santa  Margarita  River  and  Escondido  Creek  are  the  only  streams 
which  have  any  water  during  the  summer  and  are  tlierefore  eligible  for  trout.  The 
amount  of  water  depends,  of  course,  upon  the  snow  and  rain,  and  they  may  go  dry 
any  summer. 

Sweetwater  River,  I  believe,  always  has  a  fair  flow  of  water,  and  is  therefore 
a  fair  trout  stream,  especially  at  the  upper  part.     It  is  a  good  sized  stream  now. 

Cottonwood  Creek  has  very  little  water  in  it  now  and  soon  will  be  entirely  dry. 

Pine  Valley  Creek  comes  under  the  head  of  mountain  streams,  and  is  the  only 
real  little  mountain  trout  stream  in  the  county. 

There  are  several  other  small  mountain  streams  whicli  might  some  years  support 
trout,  and  where  they  enter  a  lake  might  afford  some  spawning  ground  for  trout. 
These,  however,  are  limited  in  extent,  and  subject  to  drought  and  higli  water  con- 
ditions to  such  a  degree  that  they  are  very  undependable. 

General  Considerations  and  Recommendations :  On  account  of  the  limited 
number  of  streams,  and  the  fact  that  most  of  these  streams  are  subject  to  drought 
and  high  water  conditions,  it  is  vey  evident  that  the  supply  of  sport  fish  must  be 
furnished  by  the  lakes  and  reservoirs,  and  with  San  Diego's  rapidly  increasing  popu- 
lation, this  will  become  a  very  serious  problem,  not  only  from  tlie  point  of  tlie  .sports- 
men in  furnishing  a  sui)i)ly  of  fish,  but  from  tlie  sanitary  standpoint,  as  camp 
grounds  and  picnic  grounds  are  being  established  at  all  these  lakes  and  reservoirs. 
It  is  now  under  the  permit  system,  and  supposed  to  be  regulated  according  to  strict 
sanitary  practice.  However,  the  feeding  of  the  fi«li  in  these  reservoirs  will  bring  up 
a  problem;  the  pollution  of  the  water,  which  I  believe,  no  one  has  yet  thought  about. 
The  city  is  beginning  to  establish  clilorination  plants  on  some  of  them  and  it  will 
be  an  interesting  study  to  see  how  this  will  affect  the  fish  and  the  plankton  and 
insect  life. 

As  the  season  advances  and  the  water  warms  up  during  the  summer  months  there 
is  produced  an  enormous  growth  of  fresh  water  algae  and  plankton.  I  understand 
this  begins  about  June   1. 

It  would  be  a  good  thing  to  make  a  study  of  the  conditions  in  these  lakes,  reser- 
voirs and  streams,  during  the  latter  half  of  June  and  possibly  the  early  part  of 
July  in  order  to  watch  the  effect  of  this  growth  on  the  fi.sh  in  the  lakes  and  streams. 
If,  also,  some  of  the  trout  fry  in  the  cages  and  ponds  could  be  held  and  released  at 
this  time,  a  study  could  be  made  of  their  fate  after  release. 

I  would  therefore  recommend  that  since  the  sportsmen,  city  authorities  and  county 
supervisors  are  all  so  much  Interested  in  developing  the  fl.shing  in  these  lakes  and 
reservoirs  and  perfectly  willing  to  bear  all  expenses  incurred  for  construction  and 
maintenance  of  the  pontoon  cages,  that  this  system  bo  given  a  thorough  trial,  and 
that  I  be  given  authority  to  assist  them  in  any  way  possible  by  suggestions  as  to 
the  reconstruction  of  the  existing  pontoon  cages  and  for  improvements  in  any  new 
ones  constructed. 

A  continued  study  should  be  carried  on  from  time  to  time  of  the  conditions  exist- 
ing in  these  lakes  and  reservoirs,  both  as  to  the  food  supply  for  fish  and  the  general 
health  of  the  fish  ;  also,  a  bacteriological  survey  of  the  waters  from  time  to  time  to 
determine  whether  any  infectious  diseases  aie  developing  fi'oni  the  handling  of 
the  fish. 


CALIFORNIA    KISM    AND    GAME  117 

FIELD     NOTES     ON      BIOLOGICAL     SURVEY     OF     LAKES,     RESERVOIRS     AND 
STREAMS    OF    SAN    DIEGO    COUNTY    (SUPPLEMENTARY    REPORT) 

LOWER    OTAY    LAKE 

Temperatures 

July  16,  1928, 

10  a.m. 

1   foot  depth 76°   P. 

10  feet  depth 1^6     F. 

20  feet  depth ^5     t. 

30  feet  depth ^4     b. 

40  feet  depth f^„   :^- 

.-,0  feet  depth 55     t. 

i;o  feet  depth ^2,,   ^• 

70   feet   depth ^5,    .^• 

Upper  east  arm — shallow  water !-•,  ^,- 

North  tule  cove — shallow  water '^^     ^• 

(Taken  from  the  records  kept  by  the  keeper  of  the  reservoir.) 

Plankton :  Flagellate  Protozoa:  Volvox  perolobalor,  all  Cerutiuni.  hirundinella, 
abundant  Pleodorina  caUfornica. 

Diatomaceae:  Fraaillaria  sp.  ;  Rotatoria:  Synchaeta  sp..  Notops  sp.,  Asplanchno- 
pu  sp,  all  common;  Oladoceroa :  Scaphuloberis  (nncronafo,  abundant;  Copepods . 
Cyclops  biscxcspidattis,  abundant;   Himlella  knickerbockcri   ("Scuds   ),   abundant. 

Large  aquatic  insects:  Damsel  fly,  dragon  fly,  may  fly,  all  abundant. 

Large  aquatic  plants :  Wild  sago,  Potainogcton,  forming  heavy  growth  around 
margin. 

Fish:  Bass  and  bluegill,  crappie,  few  trout.  All  in  good  condition.  Young  bass 
very  abundant. 

MURRAY  RESERVOIR.  July  20,  1928.  Temperature:  Open  water,  surface,  8 
a.m.,  76°  F. 

Plankton  :  Abundant,  consisting  of  frafjUlari,  volvox,  ceratinm,  cyclops,  daiJhma, 
scuds. 

Insects :  Damsel  fly,  dragon  fly,  may  fly. 

Plants :  Potamogeton  and  ranunculus,  very  heavy  growth  ;  a  few  tules. 

Fish  :   Bass  and  bluegill.     Young  trout  in  cage,  %  inch  long. 

Recommendations:  That  pontoon  cages  be  made  smaller,  long  and  narrow,  and  that 
they  be  moved  to  new  locations  occasionally,   in  order  to  get  new  natural  feed. 

BARRETT  LAKE.     July  19,  1928.     Temperature:   Open  water,  surface,  77°  F. 

Plankton  :  Ceratium,  chydorus,   cyclops,  very  scarce. 

Blue  green  algae  :  All  killed  by  bluestoning  which  is  carried  on  regularly. 

Plants:  Heavy  growth  of  wild  sago,  exclusively. 

Fish :  Perch  are  still  fairly  abundant. 

In  general,  the  condition  of  this  lake  seems  to  have  improved  since  January,  1927, 
due,  no  doubt,  to  the  growth  of  wild  sago  which  furnishes  a  breeding  place  for  aquatic 
insects  and  stationary  plankton. 

Recommendations:  It  might  be  well  to  plant  sunfish  in  this  lake  to  see  if  they 
would  survive  and  furnish  food  for  bass. 

MORENO  RESERVOIR.     July  19,  1928.     Temperature:  Open  water,  surface,  78°  F. 

Fresh  water  algae :  Abundant. 

Blue  green  algae:  Mostly  killed  by  bluestoning. 

Plankton:  Abundant,  consisting  of  protozoans  (rotifers),  Cyclops  and  HyaleUu 
knickerbockcri. 

Insects :  Dragon  fly,  may  fly,  etc. 
.Plants:  Wild  sago  and  Potamogeton. 

iFlah:  Bass  and  bluegill.     (I  saw  and  photographed  a  fine  catch  of  2  to  3  lb.  bass.) 

Recommendations :  I  examined  Dr.  "Wilson's  reports  on  this  lake  and  found 
there  was  a  heavy  growth  of  Anabaena  in  March,  which  was  mo.«tl>'  killed  by  blue- 
.stoning  in  April.  As  some  other  algae  and  diatomaceae  are  now  showing  increase  in 
numbers,  I  recommended  bluestoning  lightly  asrain  right  away.  This  is  a  good 
illustration  of  what  may  be  accomplished  by  intelligent  bluestoning  in  order  to  keep 
down  the  injurious  algae  and  not  injure  the  fish. 

CUYAMACA  LAKE.     July  \1,    1928.     Temperature:   Open   water,    surface,    70°    F., 

1 1  a.m. 

Fresh  water  algae:  Hormidium,  Pedinstrum,  abundant;  Diatomaceae:  Nav-icula, 
Encyonema. 

Plankton:  Ceratium  most  abundant  species;  Brachionus.  second;  Sida,  third. 

Insects :  Dragon  and  damsel  fly,  abundant. 

Plants:   Potamogeton  almf)st  exclusively,  lieavy  growth. 

Fi.sh  :  Minnows  (shiners),  viviparous  perch,  trout,  3  to  5  lbs.,  bass.  (It  was  reported 
the  keeper  had  introduced  bass  from  another  lake  very  recently.) 

LAKE  HENSMAW.      July    17,    1928.     Temperature:   Open   water,    82°    F. 

[•Yesh  water  algae  :  Hpiror/yru,  Moayetia,  Hydrodicfyoii  :  foi-ining  scum  which  floats 
into  all  the  shallow  bays  and  .ilong  snnily  slinres. 

Diatomaceae :  Navicula. 


118  CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND    GAME 

Plankton :  Abundant,  consisting  of  Brachlonus.  Chydoru*.  Cyclops  Nematode* 
(Triloba),  abundant. 

Insects :  Damsel  and  dragon  fly,  water  beetles. 

Aquatic  plants :  A  few  tales,  others  very  scarce. 

Fish  :  Perch,  abundant ;  brown  trout  have  been  planted  ;  bass,  a  few  ;  fishing  not 
good. 

Recommendations :  That  minnows  be  introduced,  which  can  be  had  in  abundance 
at  Lake  Cuyamaca. 

SWEETWATER  LAKE.     July  20,  1928.     Temperature:  Open  water,  8  a.m.,  80°  F. 

Fresh  water  algae :  Very  abundant. 

Plankton  :  Very  abundant,  consisting  of  rotifera,  crustaceans  and  scuds. 

Insects  :  Dragon  and  damsel  fly ;  may  fly ;  snails,  abundant. 

Plants :  Wild  sago  ;  potamogeton  and  a  heavy  growth  of  chara. 

Fish  :  Bass,  fine.  So  many  young  bass  that  fishermen  complain  of  having  to  put 
back  so  many  undersized. 

LAKE  HODGES.     July  17,  1928.      Temperature:     open  water,  surface,  80°  F. 

Fresh  water  algae  :  Very  abundant. 

Plankton :  Abundant,  consisting  of  protozu,  diatomaceae  and  crustaceans  (scuds 
abundant). 

Insects :  Abundant,  especially  a  very  large  may  fly. 

Fish :  Perch,  bass,  trout ;  fishing  for  all  species  excellent. 

STREAMS:  PINE  VALLEY  CREEK.    July  17,  1928.    Temperature  in  pools,  78°  F. 

This  little  stream  is  well  supplied  for  its  entire  length  with  water  plants  :  Ranun- 
culus and  fresh  water  algae,  which  furnishes  a  fine  breeding  ground  for  insects,  viz., 
may  fly  and  stone  fly,  caddis  flv. 

Fish :  Hundreds  of  young  trout,  3  to  5  inches  long  in  every  pool. 

PAMAU  CREEK:  We  visited  it  back  of  Pala  Indian  Reservation  and  found  most 
of  water  had  been  taken  out  for  irrigation.  Farther  up  Glidden  reports  more  water 
and  fishing  conditions  good. 

General  Recommendations :  In  a  talk  with  the  officers  of  the  Sportsmen's 
Association  at  a  luncheon  tendered  me  at  the  San  Diego  Athletic  Club,  it  was  brought 
out  that  this  club  is  very  anxious  to  give  every  assistance  to  the  commission  in  the 
work  of  stocking  the  lakes,   reservoirs  and  streams   of  San  Diego   County  with   fish. 

They  are  now  constructing  four  400  gallon  tanks  and  an  oxygen  equipment,  to  be 
used  on  a  large  truck  for  transporting  fry,  or  larger  fish.  They  will  attend  to  the 
reconstruction  of  the  pontoon  cages  and  are  willing  to  bear  tlie  expense  of  any 
other  experiments  we  may  desire  to  inaugurate. 

In  a  conference  with  the  superintendent  of  tlie  San  Diego  City  Water  Supplies, 
I  learned  that  the  city  is  very  anxious  to  have  the  trout  planting  in  the  reservoirs 
controlled  by  the  city  continued.  Although  the  superintendent  stated  that  some  of 
these  trout  had  already  cost  them  at  the  rate  of  $130  each,  he  would  be  glad  to 
continue  regular  annual  appropriations  for  this  work. 

With  regard  to  the  bluestoning  of  those  lakes  and  reservoirs  controlled  by  the 
city,  Dr.  Wilson  of  Los  Angeles  is  on  their  regular  payroll  charged  with  making 
weekly  examinations  and  reports  on  the  algae  in  all  the-  reservoirs.  The  superin- 
tendent gave  me  free  access  to  Dr.  Wilson's  reports  for  six  months  past.  I  find  that 
Dr.  Wilson  only  considers  the  diatomaceae  and  blue  green  algae,  which  are  likely  to 
cause  bad  odors  or  tastes  in  the  domestic  water  supply.  His  counts  are  there- 
fore confined  to  about  three  species,  Navicula  and  Fragillaria  (of  the  Diatomaceae) 
and  Anahaena  (of  the  blue  green  algae).  His  work,  therefore,  has  no  bearing  on 
the  matter  of  a  supply  of  fish  food,  except  as  the  species  studied  by  him,  or  the  blue- 
stoning  of  the  reservoirs  may  affect  the  fish  life. 

The  superintendent  stated  tliat  he  would  be  vei-j'  glad  to  have  me  consult  with 
Dr.  Wilson  and  continue  my  studies  of  these  lakes  and  reservoirs,  in  order  that 
there  might  be  no  conflict  between  the  water  department  and  the  Fish  Commission 
in  the  matter  of  bluestoning. 

Since  it  is  an  absolute  necessity  to  bluestone  these  waters  in  order  to  make  them 
fit  for  domestic  use,  it  would  seem  that  we  are  bound  to  exercise  regular  control  over 
the  bluestoning. 

Sanitary  Regulations :  The  city  is  putting  in  force  rigid  sanitary  regulations 
with  reference  to  the  use  of  the  rfservoirs  find  lakes  controlled  by  them  by 
visitors,  campers  and  fishermen. 

The  city  has  a  big  problem  in  the  triple  use  of  these  reservoirs,  and  since  they 
are  one  of  the  main  sources  of  sport  fishing  in  the  county,  we  should  give  them 
particular  attention. 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND    GAME  119 

THE  BURRO  DEER  IN  CALIFORNIA 

By  Donald  D.  McLean 

The  burro  doer  (Odocoilcus  hcmionufi  eremicus)  is  a  laro:e,  pale  form 
of  the  Eocky  ^lonntain  mule  deer  found  in  the  southeastern  desert 
roo-ions  of  California.  It  is  found  in  the  Colorado  Basin  principally 
south  of  Parker  on  both  the  California  and  Arizona  sides  of  the  river. 

It  was  never  a  very  common  animal  in  California,  beinir  a  Mexican 
species  entering:  California  via  the  Colorado  Valley  and  found  in  the 
state  only  in  small  scattered  fi^roups  in  suitable  locations.  At  one  time 
it  was  thought  doul)tful  if  any  still  existed  within  the  bounds  of  the 
state.  However,  it  seems  that  there  were  some  still  in  the  state  even 
at  that  time.  Now  it  appears  that  burro  deer  are  on  the  increase  and 
in  some  sections  are  even  present  in  considerable  numbers.  This  is 
especially  true  of  the  territory  adjacent  to  the  Colorado  River  south  of 
Blythe,  Imperial  County.  The  metropolis  for  the  species  in  that  area 
seems  to  be  in  the  district  about  fifty  miles  south  of  Blythe  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  Haslam  ranch.  During;  the  dry  seasons  the  deer  are 
generally  found  nearer  the  river  than  during  the  rainy  seasons  when 
they  often  go  out  into  the  desert  mountain  ranges  as  much  as  sixty 
miles  from  the  river.  There  are  always  some  deer  to  be  found  in  the 
mountain  ranges  even  during  the  driest  time  of  the  year.  They  stay 
at  that  time  -uathin  reach  of  springs  and  "tanks."  Hunters  and  pros- 
pectors say  that  if  it  rains  in  a  mountain  range,  even  if  it  is  miles 
away,  the  deer  will  go  to  it  in  order  to  secure  the  new  fresh  feed  which 
starts  up  immediately  after  a  shower. 

The  rainy  season  is  generally  during  the  late  summer  and  early  fall. 
At  Desert  Center  on  the  Blythe  to  Mecca  highway,  we  learned  that  not 
infrequently  deer  are  secured  in  the  Chocolate,  Chuckawalla,  Palen, 
Coxcomb  and  Granite  mountains  and  also  in  the  Black  Hills  during 
the  rainy  season. 

Normally  the  burro  deer  is  found  either  along  the  river  in  the  jungle 
of  arrowweed,  willows,  cottonwood,  mesquite  and  screwbean  or  up  the 
dry  washes  adjacent  to  and  emptying  into  the  Colorado.  In  the  latter 
type  of  habitat  they  are  associated  with  the  ironwood,  mesquite,  palo 
verde  and  cat-elaw.  Their  favorite  food  seems  to  be  the  tender  ter- 
minal foliage  of  the  ironwood  and  twigs  of  palo  verde.  They  seem  to 
use  the  large  broad  w^ashes  for  traveling  and  feed  principally  in  the 
narrow  insignificant  side  washes,  where  they  could  be  easily  overlooked 
by  anyone  searching  for  them.  When  moving  from  one  wash  to 
another,  they  generallj^  travel  the  wild  horse  and  burro  trails  on  the 
intervening  ridges.  Sometimes,  especially  during  the  rut.  individuals 
travel  great  distances  on  these  higlier  eminences.  In  the  upper  parts 
of  their  range  they  are  associated  with  the  desert  mountain  sheep,  but 
on  the  whole  the  sheep  range  at  a  higher  elevation  than  do  the  burro 
deer. 

During  the  time  from  tlie  14tli  to  the  20th  of  December,  1929,  when 
this  territory  was  visited,  we  saw  little,  if  any,  evidence  of  places  where 
burro  deer  had  come  to  water.  ]Most  of  the  "tanks"  in  the  upper 
reaches  of  the  washes  showed  no  evidence  of  having  been  used  by  deer 
and  only  on  rare  occasions  by  mountain  sheep.  Coyotes  and  other 
smaller  animals  had  been  using  some  of  these  tanks  extensivelv.    There 


120  CALIFORNIA    PISH    AND    GAME 

were  soiut;  old  deer  tracks  along  the  edjic  of  tln'  Coloiiido  River,  where 
they  had  ajipareiitly  eonie  to  drink,  but  this  had  been  lonp:  before  as 
the  river  had  dropped  several  feet  sinee  they  had  been  there. 

Of  the  eight  deer  seen  by  our  party,  six  were  seen  at  from  five  to 
eight  hundred  yards;  one  forked  horn  was  seen  at  about  seventy-five 
yards  for  about  two  jumps:  one  large  buck  was  seen  lying  down  at 
about  eight}'  yards  with  another  smaller  animal.  The  type  of  country 
in  which  they  are  found  makes  it  extremely  difficult  to  make  a  close 
approach  as  they  can  sight  approaching  danger  at  a  considerable  dis- 
tance and  the  terrain  is  very  rocky  so  it  is  difficult  to  progress  without 
making  a  considerable  amount  of  noise.  The  sound  of  rattling  rocks 
in  the  desert  is  carried  for  long  distances. 

Although  the  actual  number  of  burro  deer  found  in  that  district 
would  be  rather  difficult  to  compute,  I  am  led  to  infer  from  the  state- 
ments of  local  residents  that  they  are  increasing  in  numbers  over  their 
entire  range  in  California  as  well  as  in  the  district  below  Blythe.  The 
character  of  the  country,  the  climate  and  the  wariness  of  the  animals 
makes  the  hunting  during  the  open  season  rather  difficult.  At  the  time 
the  season  is  open,  the  meat  is  apt  to  spoil  before  it  can  be  gotten  out 
to  cold  storage. 

We  are  certain  that  in  the  district  around  the  Haslam  ranch  there 
were  no  less  than  twenty-five  or  thirty  head  of  deer  at  the  time  we  were 
there ;  probably  nearer  forty.  There  were  many  fawn  tracks,  so  appar- 
ently the  reproduction  is  good.  Most  of  the  doe  tracks  were  accom- 
panied by  two  fawn  tracks.  They  seem  to  travel  in  small  groups  of 
three  to  eight,  but  as  many  as  twelve  have  been  seen  together  by  local 
residents. 

The  future  of  this  large  deer  in  California  seems  to  be  pretty  well 
assured  unless  something  unforeseen  should  take  place.  They  were 
harassed  several  times  by  airplane  hunters,  but  I  understand  such 
activities  have  ceased  in  California.  Apparently  only  three  bucks  were 
secured  by  hunters  in  that  territory  during  the  season  of  3929  and 
these  were  obtained  by  local  people.  Fortunately,  residents  of  the 
region  wish  to  perpetuate  the  animals,  and  are  quick  to  take  exception 
to  law  breaking. 


PRELIMINARY  REPORT  OF  THE  EARLY  LIFE  HISTORY   OF 

THE  CALIFORNIA  SARDINE 

(A  contribution  from  the  Hydrobiolog-ical  Survey) 
liy  K.  C.  Sco FIELD  and  M.  J.  Linder 

One  of  the  most  important  results  of  the  Ilydrobiological  Survey* 
during  the  year  3929  was  the  discovery  of  the  eggs  and  larvae  of  the 
California  sardine.  These  forms  were  first  discovered  in  a  net  haul 
made  five  miles  northwest  of  Point  Vincente  on  June  2,  1929.  Though 
this  is  the  first  time  that  eggs  and  larvae  of  this  species  have  been 
actually  obtained  and  closely  examined,  W.  F.  Thompson,  in  1918, 
expressed  tlie  belief  that  they  occurred  in  this  same  region.  During 
1918-19  Thompson  did  considerable  collecting  in  the  Gulf  of  Santa 
Barbara  in  an  attempt  to  locate  the  spawning  banks  of  the  albacore, 
and  in  his  samples  many  varieties  o\'  fish  eggs  and  larvae  were  found. 

♦  An  account  of  the  organization  of  thi.s  survey  and  of  its  general  program  is  to 
be  found  in  the  January.  1930,  issue  of  this  publication. 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND   OAME 


121 


m  ^  9/ 


122  CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND    GAME 

He  was  of  the  oi)inion  that  these  young  stages  oeetin-ed  in  his  material, 
especially  since  many  young  sardines  as  small  as  two  centimeters 
(about  I  inch)  were  recorded.  His  work,  however,  was  never  published 
and  the  eggs  and  larvae  were  left  undescribed  on  his  departure  from 
the  laboratory  at  San  Pedro.  Although  his  material  was  preserved,  it 
has  now  deteriorated  so  that  little  or  nothing  can  be  gathered  from  it. 

A  part  of  the  present  program  of  the  Hydrobiological  Survey  is  the 
continuation  of  the  pioneer  work  done  by  Thompson,  namely :  the  pur- 
suit of  a  better  knowledge  of  the  early  stages  of  the  more  valuable 
marketable  fishes  as  an  important  step  in  the  conservation  policy  of 
the  California  Division  of  Fish  and  Game.  With  this  general  aim,  we 
have  .selected  the  sardine  as  the  object  of  our  first  investigation,  since 
the  California  sardine  fishery  is  the  largest  in  this  state  as  well  as  one 
of  the  largest  of  its  kind  in  the  world. 

This  program,  which  follows,  is  divided  into  three  parts.  The  first 
step  will  be  the  determination  of  the  exact  spawning  area  of  the  sardine. 
The  southern  waters  off  Mexico,  and  the  California  current  (the  warm 
offshore  current  running  south  along  the  entire  California  coast)  will 
be  studied  in  order  to  determine  if  the  sardines  seek  a  common  spawn- 
ing area  in  the  southern  waters  of  this  state ;  if  they  go  farther  south 
to  spawn  or  if  they  go  farther  off'shore  for  the  same  purpose.  This 
information  will  be  important  with  respect  to  our  present  hypotheses 
on  migrations  and  races.  It  may  be  pertinent  to  emphasize  in  this 
connection  that  the  length  frequency  data  accumulated  by  the  Cali- 
fornia Bureau  of  Commercial  Fisheries  during  the  past  ten  years, 
primarily  for  the  purpose  of  tracing  dominant  year  classes  in  an  effort 
to  determine  the  presence  or  absence  of  depletion  in  this  species, 
undoubtedly  will  prove  invaluable  to  us  in  our  attempt  to  unravel  the 
complicated  appearances  and  disappearances  which  characterize  the 
sardine  along  the  California  coast. 

The  second  step  in  this  investigation  will  be  on  early  life  history 
studies ;  that  is,  it  will  be  concerned  with  a  study  of  the  rate  of  develop- 
ment of  the  eggs,  the  rate  of  growth  of  the  newly  hatched  larvae,  the 
drift  of  both  ^'hile  in  these  helpless  stages,  and  the  food  of  the  larval 
and  post  larval  stages.  Egg  development  can  be  .studied  most  definitely 
by  securing  and  artificially  fertilizing  the  mature  eggs.  Similarly, 
the  growth  rate  of  the  very  young  larvae  can  be  obtained  in  a  fairly 
accurate  fa.shion  by  hatching  and  artificial  rearing.  It  will  be  neces- 
sary to  discover,  in  the  open  ocean,  tiie  depths  at  which  the  eggs  are 
laid,  and  whether  they  remain  at  the  level  in  which  they  are  deposited 
or  whether  they  rise  or  sink  in  the  course  of  their  development.  The 
drift  of  thes(^  stages  will  b(>  determined  with  the  aid  of  a  cui-rent  meter 
— -an  instrument  that  is  capable  of  I'eeonling  the  vehx-ity  and  direction 
of  the  current  at  any  depth,  provided  the  boat  can  be  anchored.  Pood 
studies  of  the  larvae  may  reveal  imi)oi-tant  results.  Lebour  *  states 
that  metamorphosed  forms  of  the  European  sardine  up  to  at  least  82 
millimeters  usually  feed  on  mud  containing  microorganisms.  If  cor- 
responding stages  of  the  California  sardine  are  found  to  behave  simi- 
larly in  their  feeding,  there  will  be  offered  an  important  aid  in  gaining 
information  concerning  their  movements  up  to  the  time  they  enter  the 
commercial  catch  as  "quarter  oils"  or  until  they  attain  a  size  of  100 
millimeters  or  more. 


*  Journal  of  the  Marine  Biol.  Association  of  the  United  Kingdom.     Vol.  XII,   Sept. 
1921. 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND    0AM E 


123 


The  tlurcl  strp  in  this  iiivrst  i^iit  ion  will  l»f  to  Jisccrtain  yearly  the 
success  of  spa^vnin<,^  This  study  will  necessitate  the  niakinj?  of  an 
actual  count  of  e,f><is  and  larvae  from  rei)r(>sentative  net  hauls  in  certain 
localities  durinp:  intermittent  periods  of  the  si)awning:  season.  Accu- 
mulated tlata  of  this  luiture  ^vill  pvovide  means  for  a  measure  of  the 
abundance  of  the  resultinp:  adult  fish  and  will  aid  in  the  explanation 
of  the  dominant  year  p;roni)s  that  come  and  fro  within  the  commercial 
catch.  Also,  it  may  show  the  actual  condition  of  the  fishery;  that  is, 
the  same  number  of  eg:<is  and  larvae  obtained  from  year  to  year  would 
tend  to  indicate  a  steady  fishery,  while  annually  decreasing;  amounts 
would  pi-obably  indicate  that  (h'pletion  was  oeeurriufr.  due  to  the  killinfr 
of  too  many  adults  or  s])aw2iers.  Periodical  scarcities  of  the  efr^s  and 
larvae,  which  are  very  likely  to  occur  in  any  fishery,  Avould  i)robably 
be  due  to  adverse  spaA\aiing  conditions,  namelj- :  physical  and  chemical 
conditions  of  the  water.  In  such  studies,  however,  one  must  be  careful 
to  distinguish  between  the  natural  and  artificial  causes  of  the  fluctua- 
tions in  abundance  of  the  young  stages. 

At  present,  some  phases  of  this  program  pertaining  to  the  first  step 
have  been  accomplished.  The  coastal  waters  have  been  explored  for 
eggs  and  larvae  to  a  distance  of  ten  miles  otfshore  from  Eureka  to  San 
Diego.  Monterey  Bay,  wliieh  is  one  of  the  main  fishing  centers,  was 
thoroughly  searched  during  April,  1929.  At  one  time  we  made  net 
hauls  forty-five  miles  offshore  but  found  no  eggs  or  larvae.  During  the 
early  part  of  May  the  search  was  extended  north  to  Eureka,  and 
throughout  the  latter  ])art  of  May  and  all  of  June  the  search  was  to 
the  south.  It  was  on  this  southern  cruise  that  we  finally  met  with 
success,  for  upon  entei-ing  the  Gulf  of  Santa  Barbara  eggs  and  larvae 
were  found  in  considerable  abundance.  Unfortunately,  the  patrol  boat 
Alhacore  which  we  were  using  had  to  return  to  patrol  duty  at  the  end 
of  June  and  our  work  was  interrupted  so  that  we  Avere  unable  to  ascer- 
tain the  actual  limits  of  the  spawning  area.  Therefore,  during  1930 
this  aspect  of  our  work  will  be  continued. 

Throughout  the  course  of  this  investigation  hauls  for  eggs  and  larvae 
were  made  with  a  hoop  net  twenty  feet  in  length,  consti'ueted  of  strong 


FiG.  36.  Manner  in  which  the  egg  and  larva  net  was  operated  from  the  Albacore. 
Any  depth  could  be  fished,  depending  on  the  amount  of  cable  played  out  and 
the  amount  of  weiRht  attached  to  the  net.  The  net  consisted  of  very  small 
meshes,  especially  in  the  bag  where  No.  "O"  silk  mesh  was  used.  This  captured 
eggs  less  than  1/25  of  an  inch  in  diameter. 


2 — 74383 


124 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND   GAME 


cable  cloth,  with  a  silk  bag  of  No.  "0"  mesh  at  the  tip.  This  net  was 
five  feet  in  diameter  at  the  opening,  tapering  down  to  three  inches  at 
the  tip,  into  which  a  bottle  was  inserted  to  collect  the  material  strained 
from  the  water.  Hauls  were  made  down  to  as  deep  as  50  fathoms  for 
a  set  time  of  15  minutes.  This  time  limit  did  not  permit  the  eggs  and 
larvae  to  become  crushed  within  the  net;  consequently,  many  perfect 
specimens  were  captured. 

A  sufficient  amount  of  material  was  accumulated  (210  eggs,  476 
larvae)  from  which  we  could  identify  these  young  stages  as  those  of 
sardines,  and  from  which  a  complete  series  of  stages  in  growth  was 
obtained,  from  the  egg  to  specimens  approximately  35  millimeters  in 
length  which  were  readily  identified  as  sardines.    We  offer  at  this  time, 

therefore,  a  brief  description  of  these  eggs  and  larvae : 

1.  The  eggs  are  pelagic  and  float  freely  in  the  water 
from  the  snrface  down  to  at  least  50  fathoms.  (Not  hav- 
ing sufficient  cable,  we  were  unable  to  fish  any  deeper 
than  this  level.) 

2.  The  eggs  are  transparent  while  in  the  water  and 
are  not  readily  distinguished. 

3.  The  eggs  average  1.89  millimeters  in  diameter. 
(About  1/14  inch.) 

4.  The  space  between  the  yolk  sac  and  the  eggshell  is 
very  large.  This  is  characteristic  of  the  eggs  of  only  a 
few  species  of  fishes. 

5.  The  yolk  is  about  one-quarter  the  size  of  the  entire 
egg  and  is  divided  into  many  irregularly-shaped  segments. 

6.  Only  one  oil  globule  is  present  in  the  yolk.  This 
lies  in  the  hind  region  and  averages  0.15  millimeters  in 
diameter.      (About  0.0167  inch.) 

7.  The  larvae  upon  hatching  are  about  3.5  millimeters 
long.  (About  1/7  inch.)  The  yolk  sac  and  oil  globule  are 
still  intact. 

8.  Characteristic  pigment  sjwts  form  along  the  ventral 
surface  of  the  early  larvae ;  prominent  among  these  spots 
are  those  which  appear  directly  behind  the  vent  and  on  the 
lower  rays  of  the  caudal  fin. 


Fig.  37.  A  sardine  egg 
in  a  late  stage  of  de- 
velopment. Notice  the 
large  space  lying  be- 
tween the  yolk  and 
the  egg  wall ;  the  ir- 
regularly shaped  seg- 
mentation of  the  yolk  ; 
the  single  oil  globule 
in  the  hind  part  close 
to  the  tail.  Drawn 
from  preserved  speci- 
men by  Rolf  Bolin 
(1.9  mm). 


Fig.  :!8.  A  sardine  larva  in  the  premetamorphosed  stage  of  development.  Pigment 
spots  are  forming  along  the  ventral  surface.  Typical  pigments  already  appear 
behind  the  vent  and  on  the  lower  rays  of  the  caudal  fin.  The  dorsal  and  caudal 
fins  are  just  forming.  The  yolk  sac  has  been  absorbed  and  heeding  has  prob- 
ably commenced.    Drawn  from  preserved  specimen  by  Rolf  Bolin  (10.5  mm). 

9.  The  vent  lies  well  toward  thi;  posterior  end  of  the  larvae. 

10.  Eggs   and   larvae   were   removed   from    water    which    ranged    in    temi>erature 
from  57  to  70  deg.  Fahrenheit. 


Acknowledgment. 

We  are  greatly  indebted  to  Mr.  N.  B.  Scoficld  and  Mr.  H.  B.  Nidever  of  the 
California  Bureau  of  Commercial  Fisheries  for  their  hearty  support  and  timely 
suggestions  in  this  invesitgation.  We  wish  to  thank  the  members  of  the  State 
Fisheries  Laboratory  who  have  helped,  especially  Mr.  W.  L.  Scofield  and  Miss 
Frances  N.  Clark,  whose  long  experience  in  the  study  of  the  California  sardine 
proved  a  great  asset  in  the  guidance  of  our  work.  Lastly,  we  wish  to  thank  the 
entire  crew  of  the  patrol  boat  Alhacore:  Walter  Engelke,  captain;  Erol  Greenleaf, 
Roy  Moseley  and  Ernest  Schmidt.  Their  eagerness  to  help  and  their  warm  com- 
panionship made  our  many  days  at  sea  extremely  pleasant. 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND   GAME  125 


REPORT  ON  THE  RELATIVE  MERITS  AND  DEMERITS  OF 
PURSE  SEINES  VS.  LAMPARA  NETS  IN  THE  TAKING  OF 
SARDINES 

By  Paul  Koxnot,  liureau   of   Commercial   Fishorie.s 
[With   two  pliotoKraphs   by   the   author] 

Duriuj--  tlu'  Monterey  sartlhie  seasons  of  1926-27  and  1927-28,  two 
purse  seiners  were  employed  in  the  fishery  in  an  experimental  capacity. 
The  boats  were  a  success  as  a  means  of  takin<>'  sardines  under  the  local 
conditions.  It  was  found  necessary  to  develop  a  new  method  of  unload- 
ing them,  as  they  could  not  go  under  the  cables  used  for  unloailing  the 
lampara  lighters.  A  suction  hoist  is  used,  its  main  feature  being  a 
high-speed  centrifugal  pump.  The  suction  hoist  is  not  very  efficient,  as 
it  delivers  the  fish  in  a  pounded  condition  and  tears  up  a  good  many. 
The  percentage  of  fish  rendered  unfit  for  canning  by  being  torn  and 
broken  in  the  suction  hoist  will  sometimes  run  as  high  as  50  per  cent. 

Because  of  the  success  of  the  first  two  purse  seiners,  more  of  them 
are  being  added  to  the  Monterey  sardine  fleet.  The  lampara  fishermen 
have  entered  complaint  against  the  purse  seiners,  tiieir  chief  premise 
being  that  the  purse  seines  are  much  more  destructive  to  the  fish  than 
the  lampara  net. 

During  January  and  February,  1929,  1  made,  a  number  of  trips  with 
the  purse  seiners,  and  also  with  lampara  boats,  studying  their  methods 
of  fishing.  The  purse  seiner  Agnes  S  was  used  for  the  gathering 
of  data  for  this  report.  The  Agnes  S  is  a  new  boat.  She  is  65  feet 
in  length  and  powered  with  a  120-horsepower  Atlas  Imijerial  full  Diesel 
engine.  The  hold  has  a  capacity  of  75  tons  of  fish,  and  20  tons  more 
can  be  carried  on  deck  in  good  weather.  The  purse  seine  used  is  180 
fathoms  in  length  and  30  fathoms  deep.  The  smallest  me.sh  of  the 
webbing  measures  If  inches. 

Due  to  periodical  scarcity  of  fish  and  stormy  weather,  only  two  trips 
on  the  purse  seiner  were  productive  of  first-hand  information  regarding 
the  fishing  of  this  type  of  gear.  The  last  trip  w-as  on  February  12, 
1929.  The  Agnes  went  on  the  beach  at  King's  Beach  on  the  night  of 
the  13th  and  was  towed  to  Oakland  for  minor  repairs. 

After  the  Agnes  went  ashore,  1  made  several  trips  on  one  of  the 
newer  lampara  boats,  the  Umherio  Nohilc.  The  Umherfo  Xohile  is  a 
documented  boat  44  feet  in  length,  powered  with  a  65-horsepower  Diesel 
engine.  She  carries  a  lampara  200  fathoms  in  length  and  40  fathoms 
deep.  The  lighter  has  a  capacity  of  about  20  tons  and  the  boat  will 
carry  a  deckload  of  nearly  as  iiiucli  more,  (^ne  trip  was  made  to  Santa 
Cruz,  where  we  obtained  nothing.  <  )n  another  trip  we  took  40  tons  of 
fish  within  a  mile  of  shore  just  north  of  Point  Pinos.  The  greater  part 
of  the  fish  landed  at  ^lonterey  are  taken  \\itliin  a  five-mile  radius. 

I  have  gone  into  some  detail  in  regard  to  the  method  of  using  the 
purse  seine  in  this  repoi't,  as  I  do  not  remember  ever  having  seen  it 
written  up.  The  lampara  has  alreadj'  been  written  up,  so  I  have  not 
made  a  detailed  description  of  its  use.*      With  minor  differences  the 

♦Methofl.s  of  SardiiK'  Fishei->'  in  Southtr-rn  California,  E.  HipKins  and  H.  B.  Holme.s, 
California  Fi.sh  antl  tJame.  7,  219-23f",  1924.  The  Lampara  Net.  X.  B.  Scofleld, 
California  Fish  and  Game.   10,  66-70.   1924. 


126 


CAI.irOHNIA    FISTI    AND    GAME 


handling  of  both  nets  is  the  same,  and  this  will  apply  also  to  the  loading 
of  the  fish  from  the  watoi-  to  the  boats  and  from  the  boats  to  the  cannery 
hoists. 

The  basis  for  the  present  complaints  against  the  purse  seiners  can,  I 
think,  be  traced  to  the  conservatism  of  the  Italian  lampara  fishermen 
against  any  change  of  gear,  a  characteristic  true  of  most  fishermen, 
and  to  some  extent  to  racial  i)rejudiee,  the  purse  seine  crcAvs  being  for 
the  most  part  Austrians. 

METHOD   OP   PISHING   WITH    THE  PURSE   SEINE 

(Monterey,  January  27-28,  1929) 

This  trip  was  t3'|)i('al  of  several  and  gives  an  idea  of  the  way  in  which 
the  boats  and  net  are  handled. 

I  boarded  the  l)oat  at  Monterey  at  4  p.m.  and  we  left  the  mooring  at 
4.30  i).iii.  Thcic  was  a  slight  south  wind  and  the  sea  was  smooth.  We  ran 
a  course  a  little  west  of  north,  which  put  us  abeam  the  cement  works  at 
Davenport  about  9  p.m.  Here  we  encountered  small  schools  of  fish.  The 
water  Avas  full  of  phosphorescence  and  the  fish  were  easily  seen.  The 
seine  skiff  was  dropped  a  short  distance  astern  with  two  men  in  it, 
attached  by  the  necessary  ropes  to  the  purse  seine.  The  boat  proceeded 
slowly  now,  and  after  a  short  time  encountered  a  larger  school  of  fish, 
around  which  she  began  to  circle.  At  the  auspicious  moment  the 
captain  yelled  a  word  which  sounded  like  "Pola"  and  the  skiff  was  at 
once  set  free.  The  resulting  drag  on  the  net  caused  it  to  run  out  astern 
over  the  roller  on  the  net  table.  The  boat  continued  to  circle,  the 
distance  being  so  nicely  estimated  that  the  skiff  bumped  the  bow  as  the 
last  of  the  net  went  out  over  the  stern.  The  purse  ropes  were  brought 
in,  taken  around  the  power  winch,  and  for  the  next  few  minutes  the 
inch  and  three-quarter  line  came  in  steadily,  both  ends  being  brought  in 
at  the  same  time.  When  the  purse  rings  were  on  deck  the  lights  were 
turned  on.     The  purse  seine  when  laid  out  encloses  a  circular  area  of 


Fig.  39.     The  purse  seiner  Aonea  S.  unloading  sardines  at  Monterey,  California, 

February  13,  1929. 


CALU'UKMA    I'ISK     AND    CAMi:  1  liT 

Avnit-r.  tin'  rorks  on  tho  surfuce,  of  course.  The  ii(>t  luiiij;-s  straight  up 
aiul  down.  Tho  purs(^  riniis  liaii.u'  1'i-oiii  tlie  lead  line  by  sliort 
7'0|..'s.  The  purse  ro[)e  acts  as  a  draw  string  and  brings  the  rings 
abo.ird.  leaving  the  fish  itii|MiiiMdc<l  in  a  net  l)ag  supported  by  the  cork 
line  and  the  boat.  Tho  whole  operation,  from  tlie  time  the  captain 
ordt^red  tlie  net  laid  out  until  the  ]iui'se  i-ings  were  on  deck,  was  eon- 
ducted  in  darkness  and  silence.  The  table  was  now  tnrned  at  right 
angles  to  the  boat,  the  roller  being  on  the  port  side.  The  chain  drive 
was  connected  np  to  the  roller  and  the  end  of  the  net  toward  the  stern 
of  the  boat  was  brouglit  in  slowly,  nntil  the  impounded  fish  were  con- 
fined in  a  small  enough  space  to  be  worked  with  the  brail. 

The  school  of  fish  pursed  n|)  in  the  haul  was  disappointing.  There 
were  about  15  tons  of  small  mackerel  and  enough  small  sardines  to 
thoroughly  foul  the  net.  The  sardines  were  about  six  inches  in  length 
and  nearly  all  of  them  were  gilled  in  the  net,  so  that  the  crew  was 
compelled  to  clean  it  of  these  gilled  fish,  a  long  and  tedious  job.  The 
net  was  laid  out  at  9.30  p.m.,  and  it  was  4  a.m.  before  it  was  on  the 
table  and  everything  ready  to  start  again.  As  soon  as  the  captain 
found  that  the  impounded  fish  were  mackerel  the  boat  was  reversed. 
wlii<h  ])ulled  the  net  tight,  from  the  bottom,  sinking  the  cork  line  and 
releasing  the  fish,  wdnch  dejiarted  at  once,  apparently  none  the  worse. 

After  putting  everything  shipshape  we  ran  north  until  we  had  the 
Pigeon  Point  light  abeam.  Here  we  ran  into  a  school  of  fish  which 
were  jumping.  They  made  an  audible  sound  like  the  falling  of  heavy 
rain.  The  boat  was  stopped  and  we  drifted  until  daylight,  the  fish 
jumping  all  about  us.  At  6  a.m.  we  laid  out  again.  The  same  pro- 
cedure was  gone  through  with.  This  time  the  captain  estimated  that 
there  were  about  100  tons  of  fish  in  the  net  after  the  rings  were  on 
deck.  "While  getting  the  net  in,  the  fish  sank  part  of  the  cork  line, 
boiled  over  aiul  departed  like  a  herd  of  stampeded  sheep.  The  captain 
estimated  that  20  tons  escaped  in  this  way.  His  estimates  were  fairly 
accurate,  as  we  loaded  about  80  tons. 

After  the  fish  were  confined  in  a  small  space,  the  cork  line  enclosing 
a  circle  of  about  20  feet  in  diameter,  the  skiff  was  pulled  around  so  that 
the  enclosed  circle  lay  between  it  and  the  boat.  One  man  manipulates 
the  br^il  from  the  skiff.  The  brail  is  hoisted  from  a  block  on  the 
hoisnng  boom,  the  other  end  of  the  rope  going  down  to  the  power  winch. 
The  operator  in  the  skifi:  shoves  the  brail  into  the  impounded  fish  by 
its  long  handle  and,  when  he  considers  it  has  a  load,  yells  "Riva," 
when  it  is  lifted  and  swung  inboard.  The  brail  is  a  net  bag  hung  from 
a  r.  und  iron  hoop.  It  has  a  wooden  handle  8  to  10  feet  long,  and  is 
rais»-d  by  a  three  point  suspension  of  ropes  which  connect  with  a  tackle 
on  the  boom.  The  bottom  is  pursed  together  with  a  number  of  small 
rings  through  which  a  small  chain  runs.  When  the  brail  has  been 
brought  over  the  hold  the  man  holding  the  purse  string  releases  it  and 
the  fish  drop  out  into  the  hold.  The  first  fish  drop  about  10  or  12  feet. 
The  fish  are  very  lively  and  kick  and  struggle  themselves  out  level  so 
that  no  labor  is  necessary  to  level  out  the  load.  The  struggles  of  the 
fish  also  tend  to  pack  them  solidly  in  the  hold. 

This  set  took  from  6  a.m.  until  2  p.m.,  when  we  started  for  Monterey. 
Being  loaded,  we  ran  more  slowly  than  when  coming  out.  We  tied  up 
to  the  hoist  at  Hovden's  cannery  at  7.45  p.m.  and  started  unloading 
at  once.     The  last  fish  was  delivered  at  12.30  a.m. 


128 


lALlFOHMA    lISll    AND    GAME 


Fio.   40.     A  brail  load  of  sardines  being  unloaded  from  the  purse  seiner  Agnes  S. 
at  Monterey,  California,  February  13,   1929. 

Time  k^ynopsis  of  Purge  Seine  Trip  io  Pifieon   Point 

Leave  Monterey -4.30  p.ui. 

Set  at  Davenport 9.30  p.m. 

Net  back  on  table 4.00  a.m. 

Set  at  Pigeon  Point (>.00  a.m. 

Fish  loaded  and  net  aboard li.fK)  p.m. 

Arrive  at  loading  hoi.st --  7.45  p.m. 

Last  fish  unloaded . 12.30  a.m. 

Tliis  load  Avould  exemplify  the  average  distance  range  of  a  purse 
seiner  at  Monterey.  The  imponnded  fish  Avhieh  were  taken  at  6  a.m. 
Avere  alivf  and  in  very  good  shape  np  nntil  2  p.m.,  when  the  last  of  thera 
■were  loaded  into  the  boat.  The  last  ton  or  two  in  the  net  were,  of 
course,  dead,  as  the  space  into  which  they  were  confined  was  made 
gradually  smaller  and  thev  were  churned  continuallv  b^-  the  brail. 
From  the  time  the  fi.sh  were  pursed  (6  a.m.)  until  the  last  of  them  were 
delivered  (]2.:>()  a.m.)  about  18  hours  elapsed,  but  the  only  fish  which 
were  soft  were  those  in  the  bottom  of  the  Ijoat.  The  suction  hoist  used 
at  the  Ilovden  cannery  is  inadequate,  having  onh^  a  6-inch  intake,  and 
the  four  hours  needed  to  unload  these  fish  could  be  cut  in  half  with  a 
12-  or  14-inch  intake. 


THE   PURSE   SEINE    AND    CONSERVATION    OF    FISH 

The  captain  and  crew  of  the  purse  seiner  seemed  to  be  able  to  estimate 
very  accurately,  not  only  the  fish  in  the  net  but  also  the  various  schools 
through  which  the  boat  passes.  They  will  not  set  out  the  net  for  a 
school  which  they  think  contains  less  than  70  or  80  tons.  The  setting 
of  the  net  and  the  subsequent  labor  of  taking  it  in  is  tremendous,  and 
being  able  to  estimate  so  closely  it  does  not  seem  reasonable  to  believe 
that  they  would  catch  and  purse  up  vast  quantities  of  fish  knowing 
that  they  can  load  only  so  many  tons.  In  case  a  large  school  was 
pursed  the  surplus  fish  could  be  gotten  rid  of  by  the  simple  expedient 
of  sinking  the  cork  line  and  allowing  the  required  amount  to  escape. 


CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND   GAME  129 

A  good  deal  of  erroneous  information  is  given  out  by  the  purse  seine 
fishermen  themselves  to  impress  the  lampara  fishermen.  Tn  the  case 
of  the  trip  which  I  have  cited  several  Italian  fishermen  informed  me 
that  the  purse  seiner  had  taken  300  tons  of  fish.  Their  information, 
they  said,  was  from  the  purse  seine  crew.  Considerable  per.sonal  feeling 
enters  into  the  matter  between  tlie  purse  seiner  and  the  lampara  fisher- 
men, the  main  cause  being,  I  think,  that  with  a  more  extended  range 
the  ])urse  seiner  obtains  fish  Avhen  tlie  lampara  boats  get  nothing,  due 
to  weather  or  distance. 

On  the  other  hand,  knowing  wliat  my  object  was  in  going  fishing  with 
them,  the  purse  seine  crew  would  naturally  not  do  anything  before  me 
that  would  jeopardize  their  position  in  the  present  fishery,  and  would 
therefore  carefully  refrain  from  any  nefarious  practices.  Several  dis- 
interested individuals,  of  undoubted  veracity,  have  told  me  that  they 
have  seen  the  ])urse  seiners  purse  up  large  quantities  of  fish,  take  on 
their  limit  and  leave  the  sea  covered  with  dead  fish.  One  of  these  men 
worked  with  the  purse  seiners  in  Monterey  Bay  when  they  were  first 
used  there.  He  is  of  the  opinion  that  with  a  more  experienced  crew 
this  waste  might  have  been  eliminated. 

If  purse  seiners  .should  replace  the  lampara  boats  at  Monterey  a  great 
many  fishermen  would  not  be  able  to  fish.  A  purse  seiner  can  handle 
larger  cpiantities  of  fish  from  greater  distances,  and  therefore  the  num- 
ber of  boats  would  necessarily  be  reduced  with  the  present  number  of 
canneries.  A  purse  seiner  operates  with  a  crew  of  nine  men  against 
an  average  lampara  crew  of  thirteen. 

A    COMPARISON    OP   THE   PURSE   SEINE   AND   LAMPARA   NETS 

The  purse  seine  and  lampara  nets  are  very  much  the  same  thing 
from  a  standpoint  of  wasteful  methods  of  fishing.  Both  nets  impound 
the  fish  in  a  more  or  less  confined  space,  and  if  too  tightly  packed  the 
fish  die.  The  capacity  of  both  nets  is  in  excess  of  the  accessory  gear 
(boats  and  lighters),  and  if  judgment  is  not  used  a  great  deal  more  fish 
can  be  impounded  than  can  be  loaded,  thus  leaving  fish  which  have 
been  bruised  and  pounded  by  the  brails  to  die. 

The  purse  seine  and  its  accessory  equipment  are  comparatively  large 
and  expensive,  the  net  costing  around  $5,000  to  $6,000  and  the  boat 
$20,000  to  $25,000.  Because  of  its  size  the  pur.se  seine  is  handled 
slowly,  even  with  the  provided  power.  The  crew  is  composed  of  nine 
men.  The  net  is  capable  of  handling  large  quantities  of  fish,  and  the 
large  boat  makes  fishing  possible  at  some  distance  from  the  point  of 
delivery. 

The  lampara  net  with  its  equipment  is  a  smaller  unit  of  gear.  The 
net  costs  about  $500  to  $600  and  the  average  boat  from  $6,000  to  $8,000. 
The  net  is  handled  entirely  by  man  power,  the  average  crew  being 
composed  of  thirteen  men.  The  net  being  cnmi)aratively  small  is  set 
for  small  schools  of  fish  when  large  schools  are  wanting.  The  impound- 
ing and  brailing  of  the  fish  are  carried  on  in  much  the  same  manner  as 
the  purse  seine,  the  only  difference  being  that  the  lampara  can  handle 
about  60  tons  of  fish,  while  the  purse  seine  can  impound  up  to  200  tons. 

SUMMARY 

From  personal  observation  and  information  which  I  have  gathered 
I  am  of  the  opinion  that  the  pur.se  seine  can  be  used  in  the  sardine 


1.30 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND    GAME 


fishery  without  loss  of  tish  either  by  the  fishermen  or  from  the  element 
of  time  Avhich  enters  into  the  matter  when  the  fish  are  at  some  distance 
from  the  utilization  point. 

The  fishermen  have  wasted  fish  in  the  past,  perhaps  from  inexperience 
and  carelessness,  but  the  crew  is  culpable,  and  not  the  gear.  "When 
handled  properly  and  with  due  regard  to  conserving  the  fish,  the  purse 
seine  will  compare  favorably  with  any  unit  of  gear  which  handles  fish 
in  large  quantities. 


THE  CALIFORNIA  WHITEBAIT  FISHERY 

By  Paul  Bonnot 
[With  four  photographs  and  one  drawing  by  the  author] 

Nearly  everyone  with  a  taste  for  fish  is  familiar  wuth  "whitebait," 
but  very  few  have  any  idea  as  to  what  it  is.  where  it  comes  from,  or 
the  methods  of  obtaining  it.  Whitebait  as  a  trade  name  has  been  in 
use  a  long  time.  "Whitebait  was  taken  in  the  Thames  River  and 
sold  in  England  about  1800.  Some  question  was  raised  at  the 
time  as  to  -whether  or  not  it  was  the  young  of  valuable  fishes, 
especially  the  shad.  A  Dutch  zoologist  in  1806  determined  that  it  was 
not  young  shad,  and  the  fishermen,  of  course,  maintained  that  it  was  a 
small  di.stince  species.  Subseciuent  inquiry  into  the  matter  has  resulted 
in  establishing  the  Thames  whitebait  as  the  young  of  the  herring  and 
sprat.  In  various  parts  of  the  Avorld  3'oung  fishes  are  taken  and 
marketed.      In   English-speaking  countries  such  fishes  are  indiscrimi- 


FiG.  41.  FiVf  species  ot  lish  in  ;i  random  handlull 
taken  near  Fort  Point,  San  Francisco  Bay,  Cali- 
fornia, October  23,  1929.  They  are  jack  smelt 
<  Atheriaopsis  californiensis) ,  surf  smelt  (Hypo- 
iiifsiis  prttosns) ,  panzarotti  (Atherinopsis  afflnis 
affinis),  anchovy  (En<jranlis  mordax  namus) 
and  herring    (Elupea  pallasii). 


CALIFORNIA    PISH    AND   GAME 


131 


nately  called  whitebait.  On  the  east  eoast  of  tlie  I'nited  States 
whitebait  is  used  to  designate  the  smelts  found  in  both  fresh  and  salt 
water.  Althou'i'h  primarily  applied  to  adult  smelts  and  silver  sides, 
the  whitelniit  of  the  Pacifie  Coast  may  be  any  small  oi-  young  fish. 
Young  sardines  (Sardinid  caendcus),  anchovies  (Eiujraidis  mordax) 
and  herring  (Clupea  ijallasii)  will  be  found  in  the  markets  as  whitebait. 
The  Pacific  Coast  smelts  and  their  relations  are  worked  over  ever  so 
often  by  the  taxonomists,  Avho  ])i'iiig  out  new  species  ptM-iodically,  and 
it  is  rather  difHcult  to  say  just  whicli  fishes  are  represented  in  the  com- 
mercial whitebait.  Lockington  (1880)  says:  "There  are  thus  four 
species  of  Micvostoinatidae  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  United  States,  viz., 
Thaleichthys  pacifieus,  Hypomesus  olidus,  Osmerus  thideichthys  and 
Osmerus  atteuuatus.  The  first  of  these  does  not  occur  in  the  markets  of 
San  Francisco.  *  *  *  'Phe  other  three  are  brought  into  the  mar- 
kets in  the  fresh  state. ' ' 

Hubbs  (1925)  lists  six  species  of  "smelts"  which  range  from  central 
California  northward,  viz.,  AUosinerus  attenualus,  Thaleichthys  pacifi- 
eus, Spirinchus  starksi,  Spirinchus  thaleichthys,  Hypomesus  olidus  and 
Hypomesus  pretiosus.  "The  surf  smelts  AUosmcvus  attenuatus  and 
Spirinchus  starksi  make  up  the  larger  portion  of  the  commercial  white- 
bait." ]\I()st  of  the  other  species  will  no  doubt  be  found  among  the 
whitebait  in  varying  numbers. 

The  conuuon  name  smelt  is  used  in  California  to  designate  several 
species  of  small  fishes.     Some  of  these  are  true  smelts  and  some  are  not. 

The  true  smelts  of  the  family  Argentinidae  may  be  distinguished  by 
the  presence  of  an  adipose  fin,  an  appendage  which  shoAvs  the  close 
relationship  to  the  salmonoid  fishes.  "In  fact  the  true  smelts  may  be 
considered  degenerate  Salmonidae,  smaller  and  weaker  tluni  the  trout, 
but  resembling  them  in  all  respects  except  in  the  form  of  the  stomach." 
The  true  smelts  range,  on  the  California  coa.st,  from  San  Francisco 


4 


I'^lG.    42.      A  surf  net  for  taking  whitebait.     Pliotograpli  May  28,   1929,  at  the  month 

of  the   Russian    River,    California. 


132  CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND   GAME 

northward,  one  species  only  extending  its  range  to  Monterey.  The  surf 
smelts  (Hypomesus)  and  the  smelts  (Osmerus)  spawn  in  the  surf.  The 
candle  fish  (Thaleichthys)  runs  into  fresh  water  to  spawn  and,  like 
the  salmon,  dies  afterwards. 

The  silver  sides  (Atherinidae)  are  not  true  smelts.  These  fishes  lack 
the  adipose  fin  and  are  closely  related  to  the  mullets.  Along  the  lateral 
line  there  is  a  silvery  band  of  color  sometimes  underlaid  with  a  black 
line.  They  are  carnivorous  fishes  traveling  in  large  schools  and,  some 
of  them  at  least,  spawn  in  the  surf.  Three  species  are  important  in 
California.  These  are  the  jaeksmelt  (Atherinopsis),  the  panzarotti 
(Atherinops)  and  the  grunion  (Leuresthes). 

The  systematic  position  of  the  whitebait  fishes  :* 

Argentinidae.      (Smelts.) 

Osmerus.     Linn.  Syst.  Nat.,  ed.  X.  310,  1758. 

Osmerus  thaleichthys.     Ay  res,  Proc.  Cal.  Ac.  Sci.,  1860,  62.      (Smelt.) 
Osmerus  attenuatus.    Lockington,  Proc.  U.  S.  Nat.  Mus.  1880,66.     (Smelt.) 
Hypomesus.     Gill,  Proc.  Ac.  Nat.  Sci.  Phila.,  1862,  168. 

Hypomesus  pretiosus.    Girard,  Proc.  Ac.  Nat.  Sci.  Phila.  1884,  155.     (Surf 

smelt.) 
Hypomesus    olidus.     Pallas,    Zoogr.    Rosso-Asiat.,    III.    391,    1811.      (Surf 
smelt. ) 
Thaleichthys.     Girard,  U.  S.  Pac.  R.  R.  Surv.,  Fishes,  325,  1858. 

Thaleichthvs    pacificus.      Richardson,    Fauna    Bor.    Am.    III.    226,    1886. 
(Candle  fish.) 

Atherinidae.      (Silversides.) 

Atherinopsis.     Girard,  Proc.  Ac.  Nat.  Sci.  Phila.  1854,  134. 

Atherinopsis  californiensis.     Girard,  Proc.  Ac.  Nat.   Sci.  Phila.  1854,  135. 
(Jack  smelt.) 
Atherinops.     Steindachner,  Icth.  Beitr.,  Ill,  01,  1875. 

Atherinops  aflSnis.     Ayres,  Proc.  Cal.  Ac.  Sci.  1860,  73.      (Panzarotti.) 
Leuresthes.    Jordan  and  Gilbert,  Proc.  U.  S.  Nat.  Mus.  1880,  29. 

Leuresthes  tenuis.     Ayres,  Proc.  Cal.  Ac.  Sci.  1860,  76.     (Grunion.) 

The  spawning  habits  of  the  whitebait  fishes  make  it  possible  to  take 
them  in  large  numbers.  When  the  spawning  period  comes,  during  the 
summer  and  fall,  different  species  spawning  at  different  times,  they 
resort  in  immense  numbers  to  clear  sandy  beaches.  Here  they  work 
along  the  edge  of  the  white  water,  sometimes  being  stranded  between 
breakers.  The  eggs  and  milt  are  liberated  in  the  edge  of  the  foaming 
rollers.  The  water  is  continually  churning,  thus  insuring  contact 
between  the  eggs  and  sperm.  So  numerous  are  the  fish  at  this  time  that 
they  cause  the  water  to  boil  and  eddy,  and  so  great  is  the  amount  of 
their  spawn  that  the  water  near  the  beach  has  a  *' sticky"  feel,  is 
slightly  milky  in  appearance  and  posses.ses  a  distinct  odor  similar  to 
that  of  freshly  cut  cucumbers. 

The  candle  fish  (Thaleichthys)  is  very  oily  and  when  dried  will  burn 
up  completely  if  ignited.  Smoked  candle  fish  are  golden  yellow  in 
color  and  are  much  esteemed  by  the  northern  Indians.  Few  candle 
fish  are  sold  fresh  by  the  Indians.  In  Oregon  and  Washington  candle 
fish  are  canned  and  smoked  by  several  concerns  on  a  commercial  basis. 
The  surf  smelts  are  too  soft  and  delicate  to  stand  any  process  of  pre- 
serving and  are  sold  fresh,  although  some  may  be  hard  salted. 


*From  a  check  list  of  the  fishes  and  fish-like  vertebrates  of  North  and  Middle 
America,  Jordan  and  Evermann.  Report,  U.  S.  Comm.  Fisheries,  1895,  App.  5,  pp. 
207-584. 


CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND   GAME 


133 


Fig.   43.      An  Indian  surf  net  used  for  taking  whitebait.      Photograph   May   31,   1929, 

at  mouth  of  Mad  Rivei-,  California. 


As  the  smelts  and  tlieir  allies  raii^ie  from  central  California  to 
Alaska  they  liave  ahvays  been  one  of  the  sonrces  of  food  supply  for  the 
Indian  inhabitants  of  this  repion.  The  fishinu'  methods  and  gear 
evolved  by  the  Indians  to  take  the  Avhitebait  are  still  in  use  today.  The 
snrf  smelts,  which  constitute  the  jureater  i)art  of  the  present  commercial 
•Nvliitebait,  are  taken  by  the  Indians  with  the  surf  nets  invented  by 
their  ancestors.  Before  the  advent  of  the  Avhite  man  the  Indians  made 
the  Avebbing-  for  their  nets  from  the  fiber  of  the  stinging  nettle  (Urtica 
fJioica).  The  webbing  used  now  is  the  ordinary  cotton  or  linen  twine. 
The  nets  in  use  today  are  of  several  sizes  and  shapes,  depending  on 
their  uses,  and  in  some  cases  on  the  tribe  of  Indians  who  make  them. 
The  nets  used  in  California  are  of  three  types.  In  the  district  about 
the  mouth  of  the  Russian  Uiver  the  net  is  built  in  the  form  of  a  large 
dip  net  except  that  the  hoop  instead  of  being  round  is  oval,  being 
flattened  at  right  angles  to  the  pole  handle.  See  figure  42.  This  type 
of  net  is  now  made  by  the  white  residents  of  the  Russian  River  district 
and  rented  to  vacationists  who  wish  to  catch  their  own  fish.  Another 
modification  of  the  dip  net  evolved  by  the  Indians  is  obtained  by  lashing 
two  poles  together  to  form  a  curved  ring  at  one  end,  to  support  the  net, 
and  bringing  the  other  ends  together  as  a  handhold.  See  figure  44. 
The  largest  and  most  widelj^  used  net  is  a  departure  from  the  dip  net 
Type.  A  reference  to  figure  45  will  give  a  much  better  idea  of  this  type 
of  net  than  a  written  description.  In  using  these  nets  the  operator 
"wades  into  the  surf  up  to  the  waist  and  handles  the  net  as  if  it  were  a 
scoop  shovel.  The  bag  of  the  net  is  held  in  the  hand  which  holds  the 
butts  of  the  poles,  so  that  a  small  quantity  of  fish  may  be  imprisoned  M'hile 
the  net  is  in  operation.  The  fishing  is  done  either  by  night  or  day,  as 
some  of  the  fish  spawn  during  the  day  and  others  during  the  night. 
The  Indians  distinguish  these  different  fi.shes  as  "dayfish"  and  "night- 
fish."    At  times  a  single  thrust  of  the  surf  net  will  capture  so  many  fish 


134 


CAIJI'ORXIA    FISH    AND    GAME 


Fig.  44.  A  type  of  small  dip  net  made  by  the  Klamath 
Indians  and  used  for  taking  surf  fishes.  Photograph 
Sept.  12,  1929,  at  Requa,  California. 


that  the  opei-Mtoi-  innst  go  ashore  and  dvinip  it.  Any  one  school  of  fi>;h 
does  not  take  very  long  to  spawn  and  depart.  A  school  will  generally 
work  along  a  given  beach  for  only  a  couple  of  hours.  During  that  time 
the  fishermen  work  fast  and  pile  up  large  heaps  of  the  fish  on  the  sand 
or  put  them  directly  into  sacks.  During  the  last  few  years  tourists  and 
campers  in  northern  California  have  learned  to  catch  the  surf  smelts. 
Some  of  them  have  made  nets  patterned  after  the  Indian  nets.  Others 
have  constructed  all  manner  of  dip  nets,  and  during  a  run  of  fish, 
inspired  by  the  rush  and  excitement,  they  will  sometimes  jump  into  the 
water  'and  catch  fish  with  their  hands. 


CALIFORNIA    I'JSIl    AND   GAME 


135 


I'lG.  45.  Kurf  net  for  taking  surf  fish  (whitebait).  The  poles  are  7  feet  long  ami 
the  net  K  feet  wide  at  tlie  top.  The  back  of  the  net  from  cross  bar  to  point  is 
24   inches.     Mesh  of  webbing  i   inch.      Sketch  August,    1926,   Trinidad,   California. 


Tn  the  old  days  the  Indians  dried  and  smoked  the  surf  tishes  for 
wintei-  nse.  Those  who  did  not  live  on  tlie  coast  moved  down  and 
camped  on  the  beaches  during  the  i-ims.  They  built  rude  shelters  of 
driftwood  and  cured  their  fish  on  tlie  spot.  While  some  of  the  fish  are 
still  cured  and  used  by  the  Indians  in  northern  California,  most  of  the 
catch  is  sold  to  the  wiiolesale  fish  houses  and  the  Indians  get  their 
winter  fish  from  cans. 


136 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND    GAME 


Whitebait    Catch    Figures — Northern    California* 
Jan.,  Feb.,  Mar.     Apr.,  May ,  June     Jnly,Ang.,Sept.      Oct.,  Nov.,  Dec.    Totals 

1'j24 4,222                            58,552                           55,614  3,386             111,774 

1925 1,576                           :?3,315                         33,259  2,818               70,968 

1926 7,215                            34,762                           43,425  155                85,557 

1927 19,582                            85,755                           21,439  7,373             134,149 

1928 9,388                           93,428                         31,967  1,303            135,186 

Del  Norte,                 Mendocino,  San  Mateo, 

Hvmboldt                      Sonura  Marin              San  Francisco 

1924 53,461                               172  3,715                         62,096 

]925 38,017                               ___  4,845                         28.106 

1926 73,242                               .__  4,233                           7,689 

1927 101,272                               313                         30,955 

1928 100,230                         16,470  233                         14,388 

*  Compiled  by  the  Bureau  of  Commercial  Fisheries. 


A  SHOCKING  FISH  TALE 
Electrocuted  Tuna  Easily  Landed 

By  COBURN  F.   Maddox 
[With  two  photographs  by  the  author] 

In  1920  Captain  Guy  Silva  was  cruising-  in  his  boat,  the  Alice,  oflt'  the 
Soccoro  Islands,  about  250  miles  south  of  Cape  San  Lucas.  They  were 
not  havino'  very  g-ood  hick,  but  finally  ran  into  some  big  Allison's 
yellowtin  tuna  weigliing  between  two  hundred  and  three  hundred 
pounds  each,  and  were  working  hard  to  land  these  big  fellows,  it  took 
four  or  five  men  to  bring  these  big  yellowfin  tunas  to  gaff.  Tlie  idea 
oeevii'red  to  Captain  Silva  at  this  time  to  try  electrocuting  these  biu' 
tunas  so  they  could  be  handled  by  fewer  men.  He  also  had  discovered 
that  local  tunas  as  well  a.s  the  Allison's  would  not  take  bait  on  the 
heavy  gear  and  large  hooks  necessary  to  bring  them  aboai'd  tlie  boat. 
Being  somewhat  of  an  electi-ician  ('a])tain  Silva  figured  out  he  did  not 
have  enough  voltage  on  the  boat  Alice  to  successfully  kill  or  stun  so  large 
a  fish,  so  he  had  to  let  the  experiment  go  for  a  while,  but  when  he 
launclied  his  new  boat,  th(>  /-o/.s  iS,  in  1926,  he  had  his  first  chance  to 


Fig.  46.     Large  tuna  secured  by  new  method  of  electrocuting  fish  to  hasten  capture. 


CALIFORNIA    FISIT    AND    GAME 


137 


Fig.  47.     Landing  a  large  tuna  taken  by  the  new  method 
dpvelnned  at  San  Diego,  California. 


try  out  the  idea  that  had  occurred  to  him  rears  before,  and  which  he 
had  carefully  worked  out  in  the  meantime.  Hi.s  first  victim  was  a 
130-pound  bull  shark  which  was  shocked  and  stunned  so  he  was  easily 
gotten  aboard,  but  the  current  of  electricity  did  not  kill  him.  This 
time  a  current  of  IK)  volts  was  run  oft'  batteries,  and  one  of  the  crew 
while  landint;  the  shark  must  have  hit  the  hook  as  he  gaft'ed  it,  and  was 
severely  shocked.  This  accident  stopped  the  fisliinu-  along  this  electric 
line  of  operations  for  a  month  or  so.  but  the  cajitain  had  not  given  up 
the  idea  and  worked  on  it  and  finally  perfected  the  original  gear  so  as 
to  make  it  practically  "foolproof."  Even  when  assured  there  was  no 
danger  the  crew  was  loath  to  operate  the  electric  gear,  saying,  "Look 
what  it  did  to  the  fish."    Finally  a  catch  with  the  new  gear  was  safely 


138 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND    GAME 


lU'iiioiistrated  and  as  the  skeptics  were  oonviiiced  that  all  danger  had 
been  eliminated  the  fishermen  erew  then  took  hold  and  fished  witli  most 
gratifying  results,  for  it  was  found  that  two  men  could  easily  handle  a 
250-  Or  ;3nn-]iound  tuna,  while  it  had  required  at  least  four  men  by  the 
old  method  of  bringing  them  fo  gaft':  the  whole  operation  taking  only 
50  seconds.  One  load  of  these  Allison's  tunas  taken  in  this  way 
weighed  seven  fish  to  the  ton,  some  of  the  said  load  being  shown  in  the 
accompanying  pictures,  with  members  of  the  crew  standing  beside 
them  to  give  the  reader  a  better  idea  of  the  size  of  the  tuna  fishes 
caught  by  this  electric  system.  The  lone  tuna  in  the  picture  with  W. 
Ashlock,  a  member  of  the  crew  of  the  Lois  S,  was  seven  feet  long  and 
weighed  328  pounds,  being  the  largest  tuna  caught  with  this  small  hook 
electric  gear,  though  a  500-pound  shark  was  the  largest  fish  secured  in 
this  way. 

The  accompanying  sketch  and  explanation  will,  I  hope,  make  it  clear 
to  the  reader  just  how  this  electric  gear  is  constructed  and  operated : 

Voltage  required  120  volts  direct  current 'off  a  generator  or  battery. 
The  generator  must  have  3  k.w.  (kilowatts)  capacity  as  it  takes  at  least 
30  amperes  50  seconds  to  kill  a  big  tuna  f though  ordinarily  they  are 
just  stunned  when  brouglit  to  gaff).  The  fourteen-foot  pole  is  of  ordi- 
nary bainboo  about  two  inches  through  at  the  butt  end  with  a  metal 
ring  on  the  tip  end  connected  to  positive  side  of  120-volt  system  or 
circuit  through  an  insulated  wire  "A-B."  The  negative  side  of  the 
system  being  grounded  in  the  water  "W."  When  a  fish  takes  the  bait 
on  hook  "C"  he  pulls  the  contact  ring  "X"  to  the  metal  contact  ring 
"Y"  by  means  of  cotton  line  "T-D,"  which  sends  a  direct  current  via 
flexible  wire  "K"  to  contact  ring  "Z"  and  on  to  hook  "C'  which 
administers  the  coup  de  grace  to  the  tuna.  It  was  found  that  if  the 
current  was  run  directly  from  tlic  battery  to  the  hook  tluit  two  bad 
results  would  follow :  first  it  killed  the  live  bait  on  the  hook  and  second 


Me/i/7>/)  ■'     Y 


-^_  To  Ba^^iy  (/i3i/'»e  \-] 


' —  //tst/Af/t^  Co/ifier  Mfjre 


M  Aimiat  /i/e 


S/ee/  H^y/v  ^attFT  ene/asey/r?  /A/n  /^^Ae^  /^f£//a//ivt. 


yiMtr      (  f/tja/„i  —   ) 


f/aa/r 


Fio.   4  8. 


Graph   showing  metliod  of  employing  tilectrieily  in   tlie  capture  of  large 

food   fishes. 


CALIFORNIA    IISIl    AND    (lAMK  189 

caiisod  tlie  hook  itself  to  ()xi(li/(>.  rciiflcrinji'  it  uscloss  aftov  the  ciirrciit 
had  been  applietl  for  more  tluiii  fifteen  minutes  at  a  time  -when  in  the 
water.  This  is  the  reason  for  the  sAvitehinp:  device  on  the  tip  end  of 
the  pole. 

This  system  wjis  ;iIso  nsed  by  Cri])tain  Seeley  of  the  boat  Niirhiiw  to 
catch  swordtish.  but  due  to  the  difference  in  the  method  of  catchinjr 
tlie  swordtisli,  that  is  by  harpooninp;  them,  it  wtis  found  th;it  it  was  not 
prfu'tieal  ;is  it  resulted  in  spoilinjr  the  white  meat  of  the  swordtish  by 
burning'  and  discoloring:  it  for  some  distance  at  and  around  the  wound 
caused  by  the  entrance  of  the  harpoon  into  the  swordtish  due,  no  doubt, 
to  the  wreat  amount  of  surface  charged  with  electricity  iu  the  harpoon. 

This  method  is  beinf>'  used  reo-ularly  by  Captain  Silva  and  1  would  not 
be  surprised  at  any  new  electrical  devices  he  may  invent  or  develop, 
as  he  has  already  invented  a  niajrneto,  an  ignition  system  for  internal 
combustion  engines,  and  has  received  patents  for  a  number  of  electrical 
devices. 


SALT-WATER  PERCH  IN  THE  SAN  PEDRO  WHOLESALE 

FISH  MARKETS- 

By  Frances  N.  Clark 

Because  of  their  minor  importance,  many  species  of  commercial  fishes 
of  California  are  entirely  neglected  in  the  scientific  studies  carried  on 
l)y  the  Bureau  of  Commercial  Fisheries  of  the  Division  of  Fish  and 
(iame.  Due  to  the  necessity  of  concentrating  these  studies  on  the  major 
fisheries  of  the  state,  this  neglect,  although  unfortunate,  is  unavoidable. 
While  jiursuing  these  researches,  however,  many  scattered  bits  of  infor- 
mation are  gathered  concerning  the  lesser  commercial  fisheries.  All 
such  facts,  if  made  available,  will  eventually  form  valuable  contribu- 
tions to  the  total  sum  of  our  knowledge  of  the  commercial  fisheries. 

Such  a  minor  fishery  is  that  for  salt-water  perch,  family  Embioto- 
cidae.  These  fishes  are  known  variously  as  pogie.  porgee,  shiner,  surf- 
fish,  surf  perch,  viviparous  perch,  perch,  and  salt-water  perch.  Since 
these  fishes  are  very  different  from  the  true  perches,  family  Percidae. 
found  only  in  fresli  water,  the  ruime  salt-water  perch  is  here  usrd  as 
it  distinguishes  this  grou{)  from  the  true  perches,  and  avoids  confusion 
with  certain  smelts,  members  of  the  family  Osmeridae,  also  called  surf 
fish.  In  addition  to  their  commercial  use,  the  salt-water  perch  are 
popular  fishes  with  the  anglers  of  the  state,  who  fish  for  them  from  the 
rocks,  and  from  the  lieaches,  casting  theii'  line  out  into  the  surf. 
Because  of  theii'  importance  as  angling  fishes,  these  species  are  closed 
to  commercial  fishing  fi'om  May  1  to  July  15  of  each  year. 

JMuch  confusion  exists  among  the  common  names  of  the  iii(li\idual 
species  of  FiHl)iotoeidae.  due  partly  to  the  local  application  of  thest^ 
common  luiiiics  and  partly  to  the  difficulty  experienced  by  amateurs  in 
distinguishing  between  species.  I'.eeause  of  the  inaccuralc  application 
of  these  common  names,  in  the  catch  records  gathei-eci  by  the  liureau 
of  Commercial  Fishei-ies,  all  species  of  salt-Avater  perch  are  listed  under 
the  name  perch.  The  first  step,  therefore,  in  securing  information  about 
the  salt-water  ])erch  in  the  commercial  fishei-ies  of  California,  is  to 
ascertain  thr  I'elative  im')ortance  of  the  different  species  in  the  catch. 

*  Contribution  No.  89  from  the  California  State  Fisheries  Laboratory,  Februarj-, 
1930. 

3—74383 


140 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND    GAME 


Such  an  estimate  I'or  the  Los  AngeU>s  region  was  tlie  purpose  of  this 
study.  The  data  here  used  were  secured  incidentally  during  visits 
made,  in  the  interest  of  major  scientific  studies,  to  the  !San  Pedro  whole- 
sale fish  markets.  The  work  was  carried  on  during  December,  1928, 
and  for  the  entire  year  of  1929.  With  a  few  exceptions,  the  markets 
were  visited  twice  weekly,  and  an  estimate  made  of  the  percentage  of 
each  species  of  salt-water  perch  seen.  The  procedure  was  as  follows: 
Fish  are  delivered  to  the  markets  in  boxes.  The  number  of  pounds  of 
fish  in  a  box  was  ascertained  from  the  dealer,  fish  selected  at  random 
were  counted  out  and  the  number  of  fish  of  each  species  recorded. 
Estimates  for  each  box  were  based  on  from  twenty  to  forty  fish,  with 
thirty  the  usual  number.  These  numbers  were  .converted  into  ])ercent- 
ages  and  the  percentage  of  each  species  in  a  box  of  salt-water  perch 
thus  determined.  To  ascertain  the  jiercenfage  of  each  species  for  all 
the  fish  observed,  the  percentages  for  each  box  were  multiplied  by  the 
number  of  pounds  of  fish  in  the  box  and  these  weighted  percentages 
summed.  To  secure  the  proportions  for  a  day  the  weighted  percent- 
ages were  summed  for  the  day  and  divided  by  the  total  number  of 
pounds  observed  on  one  day ;  for  a  month,  the  weighted  percentages 
were  summed  for  the  month  and  divided  by  the  number  of  pounds 
observed  in  a  month ;  and  the  proportions  for  a  year  were  secured  by 
summing  the  weighted  percentages  for  the  entire  year  and  dividing  by 
the  total  number  of  pounds  observed  in  the  year.  The  results  of  these 
calculations  are  given  in  Table  1.  Approximately  18  per  cent  of  the 
entire  surf  fish  catch  of  Los  Angeles  County,  for  the  thirteen-month 
interval  of  the  study,  passed  under  observation. 

TABLE  1 
Percentage  of  each  species  in  the  commercial  catch  of  salt-water  perch  delivered  to  the  San  Pedro  fish  marl(ets 


Species 

1928 

1929 

Dec. 

Jan. 

Feb. 

Mar. 

Apr. 

Aug. 

Sept. 

Oct. 

Nov. 

Dec. 

10  mo. 

Phanerodon  furcatus, 
white  perch 

48.6 

46.8 

1.4 

86.4 
13.2 

84.8 

14.3 

0.9 

90.8 
8.7 
0.4 

88.4 
10.7 

0.5 

0.1 

61.0 
6.2 

16.0 
7.5 

50,2 

34.7 

0.7 

2.7 

4.2 

34.7 

64.2 

0.2 

0.6 

79.6 
19.7 

73.8 
21.6 

81  97 

Hyperprosopon  argen- 
teum,  wall-eyed  perch 

Rhacochilus  toxotes, 
rubberhp .. 

14.05 
1  38 

Damalichthys  vacca, 
fork-tail  perch 

0.7 

2.0 

0  89 

Erabiotoca  jacksoni, 
black  perch. 

3.2 

0.1 

0  37 

Amphistichus  argenteus 
barred  perch          

0.3 

2.0 

0  04 

Tacniotoca  lateralis, 
striped  perch 

0.4 
8.9 

1.2 
6.3 

0  11 

Hypsurus  caryi,  rain- 
bow perch 

1.06 

Hyperprosopon  agassizi 

0.4 

0.04 

Cymatogaster  aggre- 

0.3 

0.6 

0  09 

Of  the  fifteen  species  of  salt-water  perch  recorded  from  the  waters 
of  southern  California,  ten  species  were  found  in  the  commercial  catch 
during  1929.  One  species,  Hyperprosopon  agassizi,  also  termed  Tocich- 
thys  eUipticus,  has  apparently  not  been  recorded  previously,  south  of 
Santa  Barbara.  Two  of  these  fish  were  found  in  the  San  Pedro  markets 
on  January  31,  1929.  This  would  constitute  a  new  southern  record  for 
this  species  were   it   not   for   the   fact   that   boats   occasionally   make 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND    GA.MK 


141 


100 

■ 

^^^ 

~ -* 

• •    White   Perch 

0---0    Wall-eyed    Perch 

BO 

Other  Speaej 

^ 

S,    60 

•^       A  / 

5 

^^/  y 

/^  /\ 

0-    40 

\ 

\ 
\ 

■•••/         \ 

20 

\ 

/•••.                  V-- 

_— ( 

\ 

~^^- 

-^ 

._-^ 

/ 

0    ' '*■■■■• 

■Cl 

t. 

i- 

x^  N           6,               "S,               --                ^ 

o 

Oj                          r^ 

%, 

J? 

Q. 

•?    a  a              =>                  «•                   '-'                   ° 

Ci                 -:> 

u 

5- 

T 

S  -^^             -T                  <o                  O                  * 

Q 

.'92S 

1929 

c 

Fig.   49.      Percentages  by  month.s  of  white  perch  and  of  wall-eyed  perch   in   the  com- 
mercial catch  of  salt-water  perch  delivered  to  the  San  Pedro  fish  markets. 

(.leliverics  to  the  !San  Pedro  markets  of  lish  caught  off  Santa  l^>arbara. 
While  such  deliveries  consist  almost  exclusively  of  flat  fish,  the  possi- 
bility exists  that  these  salt-water  perch  may  have  come  from  the  Santa 
Barbara  region. 

The  percentages  of  the  different  species  of  Embiotocidae  comprised 
in  the  commercial  catch  of  Los  Angeles  County  are  shown  for  Decem- 
ber, 1928,  and  nine  months  of  1929,  in  Table  1  and  Figure  49.  Because 
of  the  ch)sed  season  from  May  1  to  July  15,  no  fisli  were  observed  in 
the  markets  during  ^Fay,  June  and  July.  The  major  portion  of  the 
catch  consisted  of  two  species,  the  white  perch  and  the  wall-eyed  perch, 
and  of  these  two,  the  white  perch  far  exceeded  the  wall-eyed.  For 
the  thirteen  months,  the  white  perch  constituted  practically  82  per  cent 
of  the  entire  catch.    For  the  species  other  than  tlie  white  and  wall-eyed 


20 


16 


0. 


12 


-•    White  Perch 


o — -o    Wall-eyed   Perch 
Other    Species 


1928 


^  -^  ^ 

1029 


Fig. 


JO.     Montlily  catcli   in  pounds  of  white  perch  and  of  wall-eyed  perch  delivered 
to   the   San    Pedro   fish   markets. 


142 


f'ALlFORNIA    PISTT    AND    OA^^E 


peri'li.  till'  <ir(';ilf.st  |)ci'ccii1;i<i'('s  were  taken  in  Aii<iiist  and  September. 
Durinji:  Aup-ust,  the  lubbei-lip  tompi'ised  ](i.O  per  cent  of  the  catch, 
the  fork-tail  perch,  1 .')  \)cv  cent,  and  the  rainbow  pereh  8.9  per  cent. 
In  September,  the  rubberlip  formed  less  than  1  per  cent,  the  fork-tail, 
2.7  per  cent,  and  the  rainbow,  6.3  per  cent.  For  the  other  months  the 
percentajre  of  sjieeies  other  than  the  AVhite  and  wall-eyed  pereh  Avas 
praelieally  ne<rli?ible. 

To  determine  the  number  of  pounds  of  each  species  broufrht  into  San 
Pedro  each  month,  tlu>  monthly  deliveries  for  Los  Ang-eles  C/Ounty 
were  divided  on  the  ba.sis  of  tlu'  pereentatres  of  Table  1.  These  results 
are  shown  in  Fii^'ure  ;")().  The  number  of  pounds  of  wall-eyed  perch  was 
relatively  constant  throufihout  the  year,  but  the  pounda<i'e  of  white 
perch  showed  a  decided  seasonal  fluctuation.  By  far  the  largest  quan- 
tities wei-e  taken  in  March  and  Ai)ril.  Because  of  the  closed  season,  no 
Hsh  were  taken  in  ^lay  and  June.  By  Aug-ust.  the  white  perch  catch 
had  dropped  to  less  than  that  for  January  and  February,  a  minimum 
was  reached  in  October,  which  was  followed  by  a  slijjht  rise  in  Novem- 
bei-  and  December.     Aueusr  and  S(>ptemb(M-  wiM-e  tlie  only  months  in 


Fig.   51.      White  perch,   iihancrodon  fnrratus. 


Fig.   52.     Wall-eyed  perch,  Hyperprosopon   argenteuin. 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND    GAME  143 

whit'h  tlu'  luiscelUmt'ons  spi'cics  fiiiui-rd  in  llic  coiuincrcia,!  catch.  Sea- 
sonal fluctuations  in  the  total  catch  of  salt-watci-  perch  were  the  result, 
therefore,  of  fluctuations  in  the  catch  of  white  perch. 

Tn  tlie  course  of  this  study,  a  few  observations  were  made  on  the 
breedinjj:  sea.son  of  the  Enihiotocidae.  tSince  these  fish  ai-e  viviparous, 
givin<;  birth  to  live  young,  the  dates  were  noted  on  which  females  were 
found  with  young  easily  extruded  by  a  slight  pressure  on  the  body. 
The. white  perch  wei-e  found  in  such  a  condition  during  late  Pebruarv, 
March  and  April;  the  wall-eyed  perch,  during  March  aiul  the  first  half 
of  April ;  the  rubberlip,  in  late  Februaiy  and  March;  and  the  fork-tail, 
on  one  day  in  March.  During  late  August  aiul  early  September,  the 
rainbow  perch  were  found  with  young.  The  largest  catches  of  white 
perch  oceurre;!  during  the  breeding  season,  aiul  it  is  jirobable  that  the 
closed  season  of  May  and  June  affords  considerable  protection  to  these 
flsh  as  many  individuals  were  in  a  breeding  condition  at  the  end  of 
April.  The  breeding  season  apparently  had  little  effect  on  the  size  of 
the  catch  of  wall-eyed  perch  or  of  the  rubberlip,  for  the  wall-eyed  catch 
was  relatively  constant  throughout  the  year,  and  in  August  when  the 
catch  of  I'ubberlip  was  gi-eatest.  no  individuals  were  seen  with  young. 
On  the  othei-  hand,  no  rainbow  perch  were  observed  except  in  August 
and  September  when  several  individuals  were  bearing  young. 

The  results  of  this  brief  study  of  the  salt-water  perch  delivered  to 
the  San  Pedro  fish  markets  showed  that  the  catch  was  maintained 
chiefly  by  the  white  i)erch,  comprising  approximately  82  per  cent  of 
the  total.  The  second  most  important  species  was  the  wall-eyed  perch, 
which  formed  14  per  cent  of  the  catch.  The  remaining  4  per  cent  con- 
sisted of  eight  different  species.  The  number  of  pounds  of  white  perch 
delivered  fluctuated  during  the  year  with  a  maximum  in  .Maix-h  and 
April  and  a  minimum  in  October.  This  fluctuation  was  i-eflected  in 
the  variations  of  the  total  salt-water  pei-eh  catch,  which  followed  vei-y 
closely  the  changes  in  the  white  {)erch  catch. 


THE  LILY-IRON  RETURNS  TO  MONTEREY  BAY 

Shark  Fishing  Recommences  on  a  Harpoon  Basis  " 

By   CiEO.    Roger   Chute 

Monterey,  old  whaling  station,  is  likely  to  become  Monterey,  the  shark 
port.  Where  the  cachelot  was  once  out-drawn,  and  full  blubber-pots 
bubbled  with  body-oil  tried  from  niinced  '"horse-pieces,"'  and  where 
sweating  Portuguese  rolled  greasy  barrels  to  the  water's  edge,  there 
now,  in  these  more  modern  times,  W(^  may  presently  see  arise  specialized 
reduction  and  by-product  institutions  designed  ffu'  a  ncAv  ])ut  different 
oil  trade. 

Of  course,  the  whales  ai'e  gone.  .M;ii:  with  his  custonirii'v  rai)acity 
slew  the  majority  of  these  a  half  generation  past,  and  one  can  no  longer 
stand  on  China  Point  and  count  a  dozen  or  twenty  spouts,  as  often 
could  be  done  twenty-five  years  ago.  The  long  files  of  inshore  "grays" 
and  "humpies,"  that  in  pregold  days  furnished  whatever  excitement 
there  was  to  stir  the  drowsiness  of  the  adobe  ^^lonterey  pueblo,  have 
vanished.      Indixidual  sulphur  bottoms  and  sperm  whales  that   used  to 

*  Contribution  No.  90  £iom  the  California  State  Fisheries  Laboratory,  February, 
1930. 


144 


CALIFORNIA    VliM    AND    GAME 


parade  around  the  harbor  during  the  season  of  sardine  abundance,  as 
well  as  in  times  of  storm,  have  become  fewer  and  fewer  until  now  the 
appearance  of  some  last  Mohican  of  the  Cetacean  tribe  occasions  as 
much  comment  and  discussion  among  seaside  watchers  and  bay-town 
papers  as  though  Fenimore  Cooper's  own  Cliingachgook  and  Uncus 
were  to  stalk  down  P>road  and  Wall  streets,  buckskin-clad  and  in  paint. 
Let  the  truth  be  told:  The}-  all  have  been  boiled;  their  fats  and  tissues 
have  been  reduced  to  liquid  oil;  the  Staten  Island  (New  York)  tanks 
of  Procter  and  Gamble  have  received  this  contribution  from  the  Pacific 
and  added  it  to  the  millions  of  that  firm's  accuiuulated  wealtli  by  the 
altogether  primary  process  of  converting  the  oil  into  luimerous  mer- 
chantable products,  not  the  least  of  Avhich  is  Ivory  soap,  esteemed  for 
milady's  batli. 

So  the  past  is  dead.    Let  us  turn  the  page  to  a  new  chapter. 

Ancient  Residents. 

A  sensationalist  would  have  a  discouraging  time  of  it,  trying  to  stir 
up  excitement  around  Monterey  with  the  announcement  of  the  dis- 
covery of  large  schools  of  giant  sharks  in  the  bay.  Everyone  has  known 
the  fact  for  years.  Nineteenth  century  whalemen  found  it  out,  and 
are  reputed  even  to  have  practised  a  little,  and  had  some  sport  during 
dull  days,  with  the  pot-bellied,  hideous-looking  fish.  Then,  in  later 
times,  Chinese  came  to  angle  for  such  of  them  as  could  be  landed  on 
baited  hooks  having  chain  leaders.  l)uriu.g  the  la.st  two  decades  the 
resource  has  been  almost  forgotten. 

Almo.st,  but  not  quite.  Occasionally  the  big  brutes  blunder  into  some 
fisherman's  way,  and  by  the  havoc  that  they  make  with  iiis  tackle  and 
gear,  impress  upon  him  a  painful  reminder  of  continued  presence. 
Fortunately,  as  a  general  thing  they  frequent  a  portion  of  the  bight 
not  visited  bv  sai'dine  netters.  but  the  usual  good  luck  of  the  .seiners  is 


Fig.  5a.  Close  along-  the  beach,  especially  between  Moss  Landing  and  Seaside, 
school.s  of  sharks  can  be  seen  finning  almost  any  sunny  day.  A  Nantucket 
lily-iron  and  -"Ji-inch  manila  line  are  used  in  the  harpooning,  and  after  the  fish 
has  been  killed,  a  sliding  bowline  is  slipped  over  the  flukes  and  the  flabby 
griant  towed  ignominou.^ly  homeward,  wrong  end  first.  Photograph  by  Gilkey 
1929. 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND    GAME  145 

pnnctnatcil  here  and  tlirrc  l)y  disastrous  ciu'ountt'rs.  Periodically  they 
purse  up  one  of  those  creatures.  The  fisherman's  chastisement  result- 
in<r  from  this  sort  of  ha|)[)eniiiii-  impi'esses  a  never-to-be-forjrotten  lesson 
— the  costly  tuition  of  that  universal  i)eda<i-o<i-,  Experience'. 

All   Is  Not  Fish  That  Gets   Into  the   Net. 

"L  reniend)er  of  seeing-  a  shark  cau'/ht  in  a  lampara  in  1!)2H."  says 
Milton  l.indner,  one  of  the  scientific  statt"  of  the  Commercial  Fisheries 
Department,  who  was  stationed  at  Monterey  for  several  years.  "The 
Italians  of  the  crew  were  makinp:  a  tremendous  racket  while  excitedly 
and  ineffectively  endeavoring;  to  p-et  a  ro])e  noose  around  the  thing's 
tail.  The  shark  was  rolling  back  and  forth  alongside  the  boat  and 
finally  wore  his  way  ont  of  the  net  and  escaped,  for  the  men  had  nothing 
\dth  which  to  kill  him.    lie  was  half  as  big  as  tlu'ir  vessel." 

To  get  a  shark  into  a  sardine  seine  is  to  depreciate  the  net's  value 
immediately.  Thousands  of  needle-like  spines  that  protrude  from  the 
skin  of  the  animal  cut  away  the  twine  and  so  weaken  the  whole  fabric 
that  after  one  or  two  later  usings  it  suddenly  falls  into  tatters  wherever 
the  lacerating  .shagreen  of  the  Avallowing  fish's  hide  came  in  contact 
with  the  cotton.  Not  seeming  to  appreciate  that  it  is  nothing  more 
than  the  abrasive  action  of  the  rasping  sides  of  the  shark  that  ruins 
their  webbing,  many  seiners  speak  of  the  damage  that  is  done  to  gear 
as  attributable  to  the  "slime"  of  the  baskers,  which  they  seem  to  think 
rots  or  dissolves  the  mesh  just  as  acid  or  lye  might  do. 

"I  was  one  night  aboard  a  lampara  boat  that  had  already  set  on  fish 
"when  a  shark  was  discovered  lying  in  the  area  surrounded,"  says  Lind- 
ner. "The  crew  then  made  no  effort  to  close  the  gear,  but  instead 
hauled  back  one  of  the  wings  so  that  the  way  would  be  made  easy  for 
the  escape  of  the  shark.  When  these  big  creatures  are  known  to  be 
about  the  fishermen  will  not  set  their  gear." 

The  destructiveness  of  the  baskers  is  well  illustrated  by  an  instance 
in  which  a  tuna  seiner  was  concerned.  During  October  of  1929,  while 
fishing  off  Cape  San  Lucas,  ]\[exico.  Captain  Jack  Berntsen,  then  master 
of  the  ])urse  boat  Mahcl,  by  i)erverse  fate  cast  his  net  around  the  very 
spot  where  one  of  these  animals  was  feeding,  or  lying  asleep,  apart 
from  his  fellows.  After  a  half  day  of  heaving  and  cutting  the  elephan- 
tine monster  that  had  been  corralled  was  finally  gotten  free — at  a  cost 
of  a.  thousand  dollar.s  in  damage  to  the  net. 

A  Monterey  Sicilian  whom  the  writer  questioned  about  the  presence 
of  sharks  in  the  bay  there  declared:,  "Yeh!  We  gotta  heem  allaright — 
heeg  one.  lika  submarine!  No  fun  for  fall  overboard,  I  tell  you  dat  I" 
But  this  la.st  remark  was  entirely  facetious,  for  although  their  enormous 
proportions  make  their  appearance  an  aw^e.some  sight,  no  maii  really 
fears  a  Jonah  "s  fate  from  tlie  torpid  beasts. 

Noncarni voroiis   Foragers. 

Boatmen  have  an  explanai  ion  for  every  phenomenon  of  the  sea.  Coin- 
cidences and  ai)]iearances  seem  to  their  lay  reasoning  as  acceptable 
evidences  of  fact,  thus  it  is  common  belief  among  them  that  the 
"whales"  (for  so  they  speak  of  the  big  baskers)  feed  on  jjilchards. 
This  is  the  outgrowth  of  the  observed  fact  that  these  sharks  often  are 
encountered  in  the  midst  of  sehooling  sardines.  It  does  not  occur  to 
the  fishermen   that    perhaps   the  shaj-ks   and    pilchards   are    mutually 


146  CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND    GAME 

agreeable,  and  that  they  happen  to  be  found  tojr<>thei-  for  the  sob'  but 
excellent  reason  that  both  ai"e  f(^edin<r  on  the  same  masses  of  plankton 
and  diatom  life  that  swarm  in  the  water  there.  l>askers  that  have  been 
taken  ashore  for  examination  have  been  found  to  contain  gallons  of 
fresh  plankton  in  their  stomachs  without  the  slightest  trace  of  sardines 
or  other  like  fish  being  discovered  present.  ^Moreover,  the  teeth  of  the 
species  are  degenerate  and  in  no  way  suitable  for  a  predacious,  meat- 
eating  creature,  and  a  highly  developed  system  of  gill-rakers  is  found 
within  the  basker's  mouth,  nature  having  provided  a  set  of  strainers 
there  which  ])arallels  tlie  baleen  of  certain  wliale  species.  It  is  because 
of  this  whale-bone  appearance  that  the  basker  is  known  in  some  parts 
of  the  world  as  the  "bone  shark,"  or  improperly,  as  the  "whale  shark." 

Introducing  "Chuck"  Gilkey,  the   Shark   Harpooner. 

Riding  at  anchor  somewhat  seaward  from  the  outer  end  of  the  munic- 
ipal fish  wharf  of  Monterey  you  can  descry  a  handsome  white-painted 
cabin  cruiser  of  rather  unusual  ])roportions.  Should  the  breeze  swing 
her  broadside  you  may  make  out  her  name  to  be  the  Two  Brothers,  and 
if  your  interest  carries  you  farther,  you  can  learn,  by  applying  at  the 
local  oflfice  of  the  Division  of  Fish  aiul  (rame,  at  the  wharf -head,  that 
the  owner  is  Chester  E.  Gilkey,  radio  electrician,  sportsman,  and  skip- 
per of  summer  outing  j^arties  aboard  his  white  cruiser,  (xilkey — or 
"Chuck,"  as  he  prefers  to  be  called — has  revived  the  ancient  busines^s 
of  heaving  lily-irons  into  the  bulky  carcasses  of  sea  creatures,  having 
commenced  this  joyous  avocation  out  of  curiosity  to  see  what  would, 
happen  Avhen  a  160-pound  man  drives  five  fct^t  of  steel  into  a  shark 
weighing  tons.  He  continued  at  the  precarious  sport  because  it  invested 
him  with  notoriety  and  stimulated  the  popularitx-  of  the  Tvn  Broihers. 
among  landsmen  voyagers,  who  ])aid  to  go  along  on  cruises  that  they 
might  witness  the  feat  and  derive  a  vicarious  thrill — "get  a  kick"  by 
proxy,  if  you  ])lease. 

Look    Out   for    His  Tail! 

"How  long  a  i)hiiik  lia\'c  you,  and  wiiat  sort  of  i)ul|>il  do  \-ou  use.'" 
1  asked  young  ( Jilkey. 

"1  never  liave  had  1o  use  a  plank,"  he  answered.  "1  stand  in  Hie 
bow  and  strike  them  from  there.  It  is  no  trick  getting  up  to  them— 
they  are  all  regubir  Kij)  A'an  Winkles,  sound  asleep  for  twenty  years!" 

lie  tells  of  having  run  against  them  witii  his  launch,  and  describes 
the  usual  manner  of  harpooning  as  that  practised  by  Nantucketers  of 
yore  who  chanced  upon  a  sleeping  whale:  To  "beach"  the  boat  upon 
the  "fish."  the  bow-man  sinking  the  ii-on  into  the  animal  at  exactly 
that  instant  of  contact.  The  whale  would  awake  with  a  start,  aroused 
both  by  tlie  .jar  of  llie  impact  and  by  the  sting  of  the  steel,  and  sound 
with  an  elaborate  gestictdal  ion  of  flukes  which  invariably  came  down 
upon  the  surface  of  the  sea  with  a  resonant  and  ci-ashing  defensive  l)l()w 
at  the  moment  of  submerging.  It  was  this  terrible  wallop  of  the  i)uni- 
tive  tail  that  was  so  dreaded  by  the  whalei-s;  the  moment  that  a  bow- 
man j)lante(l  his  iron,  all  hands  fell  frenziedly  upon  their  oars,  backi)m- 
for  dear  life  in  an  effort  to  get  out  of  range  before  the  whale  should 
deliver  his  parting  salute.  On  the  occasions  when  crews  were  too  tardy 
in  this  maneuver,  and  the  Avounded  animal  made  correct  selection  of 


CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND   GAME 


147 


tlic  i)lace  wlici'coii  to  strike,  splintci'cd  ffa«;ments  of  boat  floated  upon 
the  sea,  and  a  few  years  latei',  perhaps,  monuments  were  erected  in  old 
Nantuclvet.  or  tal)lets  set  in  the  ^■ray  stoTie  walls  of  the  Seamen's  liethel, 
New  lU'dford. 

The  new  story  is  )i()t  very  diU'ei-eiit. 

"We  have  to  look  out  for  their  tails,"  said  Chuek.  "They  have  sueh 
Weight  that   if  the\-  ever  hit  you — well,   that's  what    makes   it   sport." 

Tons   of   Mushy    Meat. 

One  mi<j:ht  thiidv  that  with  the  speariiin'  made  easy  because  of  the 
luitural  slothfulness  of  these  shai-ks,  to  finally  capture  them  would  he 
simple,  and  merely  a  matter  of  time.  But  no,  says  Gilkey,  the  real 
crisis  comes  after  the  making  fast,  "and  it  isn't  a  question  of  the  tight 
that  they  put  up,  either.  This  is  how  it  always  happens:  -lust  as  soon 
as  you  hit  a  shark,  he  sounds.  He  goes  straight  to  the  bottom  and  rolls 
around  tliere  on  the  mud,  trying  to  work  the  harpoon  out  of  his  body. 
And  the  sur])i-ising  thing  is  that  he  succeeds  in  about  half  of  the 
instances.    Last  summer  I  struck  18  sharks;  *J  of  them  I  landed;  !J  got 


Fio.  y-l.  Tlie  7'ir')  lirolhrrs  towing  home  a 
20-f()Ot  hii.sker  tli;it  had  rf<|iiire<l  -'I  hours 
of  playing  to  itill.  t;ill<ey  .states  that  three 
is  the  largest  number  of  sharks  he  has 
harpooned  and  captured  in  a  single  day. 
Photogiaph  by  Gilkey,   1929. 


148  CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND    GAME 

away.    Two  broke  the  three-qnartor-inch  manila  line  and  cari'ied  off  my 
liarpoons,  but  the  other  seven  pulled  out  the  irons." 

The  muscular  tissues  of  these  animals  are  described  as  watery  and 
flabby  in  the  extreme.  Unless  the  harpoon  is  planted  in  the  boney 
sections  of  the  head,  or  is  driven  throujrh  the  rubbery  skin  of  the 
cartilaprinous  fins,  the  probability  is  prreat  that  the  shark  will  roll 
around  until  finally  twisting  but  the  toddle-head  on  the  shaft,  even 
ihough  the  iron  Jias  been  thrust  entirely  through  the  fish. 

Shark  Products. 

It  is  this  high  percentage  of  loss  through  escapement  that  makes  the 
fishery  unprofitable  from  the  standpoint  of  the  simon-pure  operator, 
says  our  authority.  Had  he  not  supplemented  his  gross  income  by 
carrying  pa.ssengers  or  s})ectators,  the  work  would  have  been  done  at  a 
loss.  Usually  eight  or  nine  individuals  were  ready  to  pay  $1.50  for  a 
passage,  and  in  this  way  the  running  expenses  of  the  big  launch  were 
met.    Whatever  was  derived  from  the  sale  of  sharks  represented  profit. 

All  of  the  fish  taken  were  disposed  of  to  Max  ]\I.  Sehaefer,  whose  activ- 
ities at  Monterey  and  Seaside  have  centered  about  the  production  of 
commercial  products  through  the  utilization  of  waste  materials  of  a 
wide  variety  of  sorts.  Sehaefer  paid  $7  a  ton  for  the  big  fish,  produc- 
ing two  distinct  salable  articles  from  them :  liver  oil  and  meat  scrap 
or  meal. 

The  quality  of  the  oil  is  said  to  have  been  excellent — a  clear,  white 
fluid,  high  in  viscosity  and  of  good  price.  It  is  said  to  have  enjoyed 
ready  request  at  60  cents  or  more  per  gallon.  Petaluma  poultrj-men, 
skilled  in  compounding  scientifically  balanced  egg-producing  chicken 
rations,  combine  the  costly  oil  with  other  foods  and  feed  it  to  their 
laying  flocks  for  the  virtue  of  vitamins,  in  which  the  oil  is  excessively 
rich. 

It  is  well  known,  of  course,  that  certain  fishes  in  the  sea  store  much 
of  their  fat  in  the  liver.  The  cod  family  is  noted  in  this  respect,  the 
cod,  haddock,  pollock,  cusk  and  hake  constituting  a  vast  population, 
numerically,  of  this  type  of  bottom-feeder.  Sharks  of  all  sorts  likewise 
have  the  same  characteristic,  and  indeed  shark-liver  oil  is  not  to  be 
distinguished  from  liver  oils  of  the  cods  except  by  experts  equipped 
with  scientific  apparatus  enabling  chemical  analysis.  It  has  been 
claimed  that  the  basking  shark — the  sort  obtaining  at  ^Monterey — is  the 
world's  record  holder  for  enlarged  liver,  and  that  no  other  fish  produces 
so  much  oil  in  proportion  to  its  gross  weight. 

"The  largest  shark  that  we  harpooned  and  hindefl  weighed  about 
three  and  a  half  tons,"  states  the  fisherman.  "We  took  more  than 
1200  pounds  of  liver  out  of  that  one,  and  this  produced  155  gallons  of 
pui-e,  white  oil.  But  the  flesh  was  so  watery  that  little  was  realized 
from  it.  There  seems  to  be  so  little  substance  in  it  that  when  processed 
nothing  remains.  I  would  say  that  the  average  shark  gives  only  about 
150  pounds  of  meal — and  queer-looking  stuff  it  is,  too;  looks  like  shred- 
ded wheat,  or  something  of  that  sort. 

"The  liver  oil  is  the  main  thing;  from  the  nine  sharks  something 
over  950  gallons  of  oil  were  produced." 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND   GAME  149 

Selecting  Small  Ones. 

Probably  Oilkoy's  estimates  and  ti<rures  should  not  be  taken  as 
exactly  representative  of  wliat  the  fishery  would  do  wei-e  it  (h-veloix'd 
seriously.  This  cautioninf;  is  based  upon  Ids  own  dcclaralions  1hat  tlie 
two  larprest  sharks  that  lie  struck  ])oth  came  to  tlie  surface  aftei'  an 
initial  dive  to  the  bottom,  and  by  plun<:'iii<j:  around  i)art('d  Ids  line. 
Moreover,  he  exercised  a  certain  dep:ree  of  caution  in  selectinp:  from 
amont;  the  drowsy  schools  of  finnin<i  fish  some  individual  of  a  size 
suitable  for  tacklinp:. 

"There  are  sharks  out  iIi-tc  as  hij^-  as  a  small  wlialc"  he  says. 
"Why,  the  larjjest  one  that  we  bi-oujjht  in  was  more  than  tliii-fy  feet 
long,  and  it  didn't  begin  to  measure  up  to  some  of  the  others.  We  saw 
one  out  there  that  certainly  was  twenty  feet  longer  than  the  Two 
Brothers,  and  she  is  a  fifty-footer.  Of  course,  we  weren't  wanting  to 
tackle  anything  like  that." 

Candidate   for   a    Jonah. 

But  our  friend  Chuck's  great  circumspection  about  making  fast  to 
too  monstrous  a  monster  is  seemingly  belied  by  his  ai)})ar('nt  abandon 
and  injudicionsne.ss  in  sallying  nonchalantly  to  sea  in  a  skiff'  to  worry 
the  sleepy  old  liver-fish.  Fir.st  of  all  he  harpooned  two  of  them  from 
a  22-foot  speed  boat  having  an  outboard  motor — and  spent  three 
hours  towing  one  of  these  a  distance  of  only  two  miles.  Then,  on  an 
occasion  when  one  of  the  creatures  was  stui)idly  following  Gilkey's 
skiff,  the  boatman  stood  up  with  the  iron  and  crashed  it  through  the 
fish's  head.  When  finally  it  was  gotten  ashore  it  Avas  found  to  be 
twenty-five  feet  long. 

Tenacious  of   Life. 

Sharks  are  an  undeveloped  and  exceedingly  ])rimitive  sort  of  animal, 
comparing  with  the  skates  and  rays  and  other  low  forms  of  fish  life  in 
that  they  have  cartilaginous  frameworks  instead  of  bony  skeletons, 
and  an  undevelojied  nervous  system.  This  latter  remlei-s'  them  hard 
to  kill,  for.  like  many  fi.-^h  and  re|)tilian  forms,  they  will  continue  to 
manifest  life  even  after  having  been  hori-ibly  injured,  or  even  dismem- 
bered. 

"When  one  of  them  has  exhausted  himself  rolling  around  on  the 
bottom  we  i)ull  him  up.  It  may  seem  sti-ange.  l)ut  it  is  a  fact  that 
they  always  come  to  the  top  tail  fiist.  They  are  very  hard  to  kill,  and 
you  have  to  shoot  them  in  a  certain  small  spot  in  the  gills  or  tlH>\-  \\\\\ 
goon  livin<j  for  hours." 

By- Products  Overlooked. 

"What  did  you  do  with  the  skins.  ;ind  to  wliom  did  yon  sell  the 
fins.'"  1  asked  the  harpooner. 

"Funny  thing  about  that."  said  (Jiuck.  "\Vc  nc\ri'  ti-icd  to  skin 
them  at  all — but  they  cei-tainly  lijixc  ;i  tonirli  hide.  In  fart,  tin-  hiile 
is  about  all  that  lidlds  llir  !i;ii-p(,(in  in  thctn  ;it  ,ill;  il  ouLilit  I<i  ni;ikc 
fine  leathei-. 

"And  about  tiic  tins:  well,  we  didn't  know  that  iliey  were  wortli  ;in\- 
thing.  We  hauled  the  lish  up  on  the  beach  and  then  the  Chinamen 
came  along  at  night  and  stole  ;dl  those  fins     We  didn't  find  out  until 


150  CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND    GAME 

later  that  they  were  worth  about  as  much  as  the  rest  of  the  fish.  About 
the  time  that  we  quit  fisliiuj?  one  of  the  Chinamen  came  to  see  me  about 
getting  all  of  the  fins- — he  was  a  sly  old  fellow;  wanted  me  to  set  the 
price." 

So  certain  canny  Orientals  have  had  sundry  barrels  of  sharkfin  soup 
free  of  cost  at  this,  their  New  Year 's  season. 

Now  a  word  from  IMilton  Lindner  aj>'ain  :  "T  even  tried  eating  these 
fellows.  In  October  one  was  landed  that  measured  twenty-four  feet 
and  weighed  two  and  three-quarters  tons.  Some  sardine  boat  brought 
it  in.  They  cut  it  open  there  on  the  beach  and  exposed  the  long  gray 
liver  which  was  an  enormous  organ.  When  it  was  tried  out  it  produced 
over  100  gallons  of  colorless,  odorless,  tasteless  oil— better  to  every 
appearance  than  any  cod  liver  oil  I  ever  saw.  It  sold  to  egg-raisers  for 
about  60  cents  a  gallon. 

"Well,  the  meat  of  the  fish  looked  so  fresh  and  good  that  T  decided 
to  try  eating  some  of  it.  I  cut  out  a  nice  steak  and  took  it  home,  where 
I  fried  it.  It  turned  out  to  be  as  tender  as  the  finest  of  steer  beef,  but 
it  savored  of  ammonia  somewhat,  and  was  not  really  suited  for  frying. 
If  I  had  parboiled  it  first  it  would  have  been  excellent." 

Lindner  explains  that  the  displeasing  taste  of  fried  shark  flesh  results 
from  the  fact  that  these  fish  have  a  slow^  elimination  of  uric  wastes 
from  their  blood.  At  all  times  there  is  present  in  the  tissues  a  con- 
siderable amount  of  substance  that  is  incompatible  with  fine  flavor 
unless  the  food  be  prepared  in  a  manner  which  will  free  it  from  the 
accumulation  of  nitrogenous  matter. 

Scientific   Dope. 

Dr.  David  Starr  Jordan,  the  great  ichthylogist  of  Stanford  University, 
has  written  brieflv  on  the  Monterev  "elephant  shark"  in  his  volume 
entitled  "Fishes,"  pages  196-197 :  " 

"The  largest  of  all  living  sharks  is  the  great  basking  shark  {Cetor- 
hinus  maximus),  constituting  the  family  of  Cetorhinidue.  This  is  the 
largest  of  all  fishes,  reaching  a  length  of  36  feet,  and  an  enormous 
weight.  It  is  a  dull  and  sluggish  animal  of  the  northern  seas,  almost 
as  inert  as  a  sawlog,  often  floating  slowly  southward  in  pairs  in  the 
spring  and  caught  occasionally  by  whalers  for  its  livei'.  When  caught 
its  huge  flabby  head  spreads  out  flat  on  the  ground,  its  weight  in  con- 
nection with  the  great  size  of  the  mouth-cavity  rendering  it  shapeless. 
Although  so  clumsy  and  without  spirit,  it  is  said  that  a  blow  of  its  tail 
will  crush  an  ordinary  Avhaleboat.  The  basking  shark  is  known  on  all 
northern  coasts,  but  has  most  frequently  been  taken  in  the  North  Sea, 
and  about  Monterey  Bay  in  California.  From  this  locality  specimens 
have  been  sent  to  the  chief  museums  of  Europe.  In  its  external  char- 
acters the  basking  shark  has  much  in  common  with  the  man-eater.  Its 
body  is,  however,  i-elatively  clumsy  forward ;  its  fins  are  lower,  and  its 
gill-openings  are  much  broader,  almost  meeting  under  the  throat.  The 
great  difference  lies  in  the  teeth,  which  in  Cetorhinus  are  very  small 
and  w^eak,  about  200  in  each  row.  The  basking  shark,  also  called  ele- 
phant shark  and  bone-shark,  does  not  i)ursue  its  ])rey,  but  feeds  on 
small  creatures  to  be  taken  without  eifort.  Fossil  teeth  of  Cetorhinus 
have  been  found  from  the  Cretaceous,  as  also  fossil  gill-rakers,  struc- 
tures which  in  this  shark  are  so  long  as  to  suggest  whalebone." 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND    GAME  151 

Big  Shark  Schools. 

During  many  years  past  Icchindic  fishonncn  liavo  prosccutod  an 
annual  summer  fishery  for  the  bnskin'r  shark.  In  that  country  many 
people  dei)encl  foi-  their  livelihood  iii)ou  the  products  of  this  enterprise. 
Liver  oil  is  naturally  the  primary  interest,  but  the  entire  fish  is  utilized. 
Chroniclers  who  assert  that  they  have  witnessed  the  Icelandic  opera- 
tions tell  that  the  boatmen  go  to  sea  armed  with  harpoons  and  lances 
as  secondary  apparatus  to  accordions  or  other  musical  instruments 
with  which  "to  lure  the  tisli  within  reach.  It  seems  that  the  basker  is 
mildly  curious;  it  is  characteristic  of  him  to  follow  boats.  The  Ice- 
hmders  believe  that  he  will  follow  more  closely  in  order  to  hear  their 
nuisic.  and  so  set  up  a  high-seas  concert  until  such  time  as  a  shark 
comes  up  close  enougli  to  stick  an  iron  into  him.  These  six-foot  island 
Nordics  credit  the  fish  with  artistic  discernment,  so  play  at  being  male 
Loreleis  by  singing  and  wielding  a  concertina,  using  music  and  art  as 
the  seductive  bait — as  many  another  astute  fisher  has  done ! 

But  whereas  oflf  Iceland,  and  elsewhere  generally,  these  animals  .show 
themselves  only  in  pairs  or  as  lone  individuals,  Gilkey  declares  that  in 
]\Ionterey  Bay  they  often  ai'e  seen  lying  together  in  whole  rafts. 

"They  are  here  all  the  year  round,  I  am  sure  of  that,"  he  says.  "The 
reason  that  they  are  not  seen  more  often  is  that  they  lie  clase  to  shore, 
in  waters  where  fishermen  seldom  go.  Almost  always  we  can  find  them 
close  along  the  beach,  rarely  more  than  half  a  mile  from  the  laud.  It 
may  be  that  they  collect  there  because  the  shoal  water  is  warmer  than 
farther  out — anyway,  that's  where  they  fin.  I  have  seen  as  many  as 
500  of  them  schooling  together  at  one  time,  and  to  spot  fifteen  or 
twenty  together  is  the  regular  thing." 

If  the  resoui'ce  really  is  abundant,  and  if  through  annual  migrations 
the  local  sui)ply  is  replenished,  there  seems  a  possibility  of  fine  profits 
for  someone  who  will  undertake  its  exploitation,  properly  equipped  and 
in  serious  fashion.  Were  the  skins  utilized,  and  the  fins  prepared  for 
the  Oriental  nuirket,  no  doubt  the  individual  sharks  would  contribute 
twice  the  return  that  has  been  derived  thus  far.  The  Schaefer  reduc- 
tion company  is  said  to  have  accepted  willingly  all  of  the  fish  that  have 
been  brought  to  it  in  times  past,  be  it  market  trimmings,  Vito  Bruno's 
trawl-caught  dogfish,  or  Gilkey 's  basking  sharks.  As  soon  as  it  opens 
its  new  establishment  it  will  no  doubt  be  in  position  to  receive  indus- 
trial fish  again. 

Should  the  utilization  of  sharks  attain  considerable  projiortions  in 
^Monterey  Bay,  old  residents  may  have  recollection  (piickened  by  a 
return  of  the  days  of  the  ocean  chase,  and  the  sn])tropic  "Nantucket 
sleigh-ride."  The  "pui'I)lo's"  veteran  citizens  remember  when  boat 
crews  put  out  fi'om  shore-stations  on  tln^  beach  to  pursut>  i)lume-like 
spouts  espied  by  watchers  stationed  on  Presidio  Hill.  In  those  times  the 
intoned  hail  of  the  lookout  man  t(M-niin;it('d  the  noon  siesta  with  an 
abruptness  and  finality  that  was  eiuirely  unnative;  "Tha-a-ar  .she 
blo-o-o-ows !  One  p'int  off  the  rocks,  thar."  But  in  future  there  wull 
be  no  tar  barrel  made  fast  in  some  tall  tree's  top.  Instead,  the  harpoon- 
boat  will  sally  to  sea  on  a  sunny  morning,  following  the  strip  of  white 
sand  beach  around  the  wide  arc  of  the  bight  until  the  lookout  in  the 
crow's  ne.st,  or  perluips  the  gunner  on  the  forecastle  head,  will  sing  out 
the  tidings  of  profit:  "Fins — Oh!    Give  'er  a  spoke  to  starb'rd,  Sam. 


152 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND    GAME 


There!  Steady  as  she  <;oes — jiorl  a  litth-.  jiort,  i)or1.  PORT! 
Stea-a-a-ady !  Slow  ])ell !  Let  'im  have  it  I"  And  as  the  crash  of  the 
Sveii  Koyii  jerks  u])  the  bow  of  the  litth>  tu^,  an  echoing'  thud  sounds 
from  beneatli  the  st'a  where  the  detonatiiifj'  bomb  exploding  at.  the 
harpoon's  ])oint  makes  a  short  end  of  the  shark — and  a  sure  prize  of 
the  rich  liver — bet'oi'e  the  stni)id  fish  lias  time  to  take  t'i'i<rht,  and  sound. 


CONSERVATION  THROUGH  VISUAL  EDUCATION 

A  List  of  Educational  Films  for  Loan  by  the  Division  of  Fish  and 
Game,  California  Department  of  Natural  Resources 

Ever  siuee  motion  pietui-es  eame 

into    wide    use    for    entertainment 

and     instruction,    the    Pivision    of 

Fisli    and    (lame.    Department    of 

Natural  Hesourees,  lias  been  ac(|uir- 

in<r  educational  films  depictino-  the 

fish  and  jjame  resouices  of  ( 'alifor- 

nia.     Educators  complain  that  too 

much    p  !•  o  m  i  11  e  n  c  e  i  .s  <i'iven  to 

l<iio\\  led;je  uained   fi'om  books  and 

poiiil    fo   the   need    for   closer   eon- 
tacts   with   the  living'  oljject   in  its 

natui'al   environment.      Jlence.   the 

l)i\isioi!   has  made  a  consistent  ef- 
fort    to    aecpiire    natural    history 
films    which   siiow    the    life   history    and    characteristics    of    important 
species  in  their  natural  setting. 

The  game  animals  of  the  .state  that  are  iioled  for  tiieir  abundance 
and  wide  distribution  have  been  made  the  objects  of  an  accurate  visual 
record,  and  those  that  are  known  for  their  scarcity  and  isolation  are 
shown  in  their  native  habitat.  Special  apparatus  and  telephoto  lenses 
were  used  in  taking  pictures  of  mountain  sheep,  antelope  and  little 
brown  crane.  Practice,  patience  and  perseverance  were  necessary  to 
make  the  first  photographic  ircord  of  the  nesting  and  home  life  of  the 
long-billed  curleAV  and  pinyon  jay. 

Throughout  each  series,  emphasis  is  placed  on  the  need  and  value  of 
California's  fish  and  game  rf^sources.  The  pictures  also  serve  as  visual 
aids  to  an  understanding  of  the  methods  and  means  being  emploj^ed  by 
the  Division  to  protect  and  produce  game.  .Many  of  th(>m  are  designed 
for  school  use  and  are  suitable  as  visual  aids  in  courses  on  the  consei'- 
vation  of  natural  resources.  Others  emphasize  features  of  interest  to 
sportsmen  and  fish  and  game  organizations. 

These  wild  life  films  are  available  for  loan  to  responsible  organiza- 
tions throughout  the  state.  Sine.-  no  cluirge  is  made  for  their  use,  it  is 
expected  that  the  borrower  will  pay  carrying  charges  and  will  be 
responsible  for  any  serious  damage. 

These  films  are  utilized  also  to  illustrate  lectures  on  the  conservation 
of  fish  and  game  given  by  the  stafi'  of  the  Bureau  of  Education  and 
Research.  A  serious  effort  is  made  to  make  this  lecture  service  state- 
wide, rather  than  confining  it  to  the  more  densely  populated  areas  of 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND   GAME 


153 


California.  No  chai-f^n'  is  made  tor  llicsc  pi-ojrrains,  luM  sponsors  are 
expected  to  furnish  a  standard  film  pro.icctoi-  and  coinix'tcnt  operator. 
Requests  for  motion  ])ietures  or  lecturers  should  be  addressed  to  the 
Bureau  of  Education  and  Kesearch,  Division  of  Fish  and  Game,  510 
Russ  Buildinfr,  San  Francisco,  California. 

LIST   OF    MOTION    PICTURE    FILMS 

January,    1930 

Standard  35  mm.,  1000-foot  reels. 

FISH 

Game   Fishes 

Trout 

*1A     Trout  Culture  and  Angling.     By  K.  A.   Salisbury. 

Close   up   view  of   trout.      Operations   Mt.    Shasta  Hatchery— artificial   spawn- 
ing-, culture  of  trout   eggs  and  hatchery  operations.     Planting.     Angling  for 
steelhead  on  Klamath  River. 
1 B     Same  as  above. 

*2A     Life   History  of  Steelhead   Trout.     By  George   Stone. 

Prizma    color.      Dams,    impediments    to    natural    migrations;    fish    ladder    and 
screen.     Egg-collecting  station   on  Klamath   River — trapping  steelhead,   arti- 
ficial spawning.     Operations  at  Mt.  Shasta  Hatchery — culture  of  eggs.     Plant- 
ing.    Catching  large  steelhead  on  the  Eel  River. 
2B     Same  as  above — also  shows  microscopic  food  of  trout. 
2C     Same  as  above. 

3A     Trout  Cultural   Operations  at   Mt.  Shasta    Hatchery.     Photography  by  Sidney 
Snow  and  others.     Edited  by  Rodney  S.  Ellsworth. 

Panorama  Mt.  Shasta  Hatchery.  Close  up  views  of  trout.  Artificial  spawn- 
ing and  hatching  operations. 

t4A     Trout   Transportation   and    Planting. 

'rran.spf>rtation  by  rail  to  Yosemite  National  Park.  Planting  in  High  Sierra 
lake.s   and  streams.  ; 

20A     From    Hatchery  to  Creel.      (Trout  cultural  operations   in   California.)      (Three 
reels.)      Photography  by   Sidney   Snow.      Edited   by  Rodney   S.    Ellsworth. 
Part  1.     Mt.  Shasta  Hatchery — brood  stock  and  ponds.     Trout  cultiual  opera- 
tions— artificial  spawning,  care  and  culture  of  eggs. 

Part  2.  Mt.  Shasta  Hatchery  (continued).  Hatchery  operations — feeding 
trout  fry  and  fingerlings.  Transportation  of  fingerlings  by  rail  to  Yosemite 
Nationai  Park. 

Part  3.  Transportation  of  fingerlings  by  truck  and  pack  animals  to  High 
Sierra.  Planting  from  truck  in  Tenaya  Lake  and  Tuolumne  :Meadows.  Fish- 
ing scenes — Lake  Almanor.     Catching  large  steelhead,  Klamath  River. 

Salmon 

25A     Salmon,   King  of  Fishes.     By  H.  C.  Bryant. 

Salmon  culture  operations — trapping  salmon  at  Klamathon,  artificial  spawn- 
ing. Hatching  eggs  at  Mt.  Shasta  Hatchery,  scientific  investigations — age 
studies  and  migrations.     Klamath  Indian  ceremonies. 

26A     Salmon  Egg-taking  at  Klamathon.    Photography  by  Sidney  Snow.    Edited  by 
Rodney   S.  Ellsworth. 
Traiiping  and  sitawnins  salmcm. 

27A     Salmon    Culture,    Salmon    Hatching   at    Mt.    Shasta.      Photography    by    Sidney 
Snow.     Edited  by  Rodney  S.  Ellsworth. 
Biological  development  of  salmon  eggs.     Care  of  fry. 

Angling 

35A     Trout  Angling.     (Lessons  in  fly  casting.)     By  H.  C.  Bryant  and  E.  S.  Cheney. 

Close  up  of  trout  fishing  scenes.     Fly  and  plug  casting. 
t40A     Steelhead   Angling.     By  B.   S.  Cheney  and  others. 

Close  up  steelhead.       Fishing  scenes,  tidewater  and  stream. 

45A     Out  for  Stripers.     By  E.   S.   Cheney. 

Striking  evidence  of  the  sport  furnished  by  the  successful  introduction  of  the 
stripid   bass   in   Califninia.      Fishing  scenes  San   Francisco  Bay   and    sloughs. 

t46A  Introduced  River  Fishes.  (Spiny-rayed  fishes.)  By  E.  S.  Cheney  and  others. 
Close  up  views  of  black  bass,  blue-gill  sunflsh  and  others.  Angling  for  black 
bass.    Rescuing  stranded  fish  and  planting  in  live  waters. 


154  CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND    GAME 

COMMERCIAL    FISHERIES 

Marine    Fishes 
50A      Sardine    Fishery. 

Sardine  boats  and  gear.  Fishing'  for  sardines,  Monterey  Bay.  Canning  ope- 
rations. 

•55A     Tuna    Fishery. 

The  tuna  industry  from  the  capture  of  the  fish  to  the  finished  canned  product. 
55 B     .Same  as  above. 

60A     Shad  of  Caifornia.     By  E.   S.  Cheney. 

Shad  boats  and  gear.  Fishing  for  shad,  .San  Joaipiin  River.  .Shad  roe.  Can- 
ning operations  at  Pittsburg. 

t75A      Fresh   Fish    Market  Supply.  By  E.  S.  Cheney. 

Salmon,  halilmt,  barracuda,  sole,  sandabs,  rock  fish,  yellow  tail,  hei-ring,  sea 
bass,    bonito.      Fishing   scenes.      Methods   of   fishing — boats   and   gear.      Fresh 

fish  markets. 

v78A     Fish   Canning    Industry  of  California.     By  E.   S.   Cheney. 

Scenes  at  canning  centers.  Methods  of  canning  sardines,  mackerel,  tuna, 
skipjack,   albacore,   anchovies.     By-i)roducts — fertilizer,   oil,   etc. 

Mollusks 

80A     Pismo  Clam.     By  E.  S.  Cheney. 

J^ife  history.  Scientific  researcli — yeai'ly  census.  Methods  of  digging  for  clams. 
Apprehending  violators. 

Crustaceans 

90A     Spiny  Lobster.     By  E.  S.  Cheney. 

Ijife  history.  Fishing  boats  and  traps.  Methods  of  preparing  loVisters  for 
iTiarket.     Law  enforcement  and   inspection. 

BIRDS 

Game   Birds 

*^100A     California's  Waterfowl.     By  H.  C.  Bryant  and  K.  S.  Cheney  and  others. 
Ducks  and  geese. 

100B     California's  Waterfowl.     By  H.  C.  Bryant  and  E.  S.  Cheney  and  others. 

Hunting  scenes.  Mallards,  pintails,  canvasbacks.  Ducks  and  geese  in  flight, 
Sacramento  Valley.  Ducks  on  California's  oldest  game  refuge.  Whistling 
swans. 

105A     Ducks  of  California.     By  H.  C.  Bryant  and  E.  S.  Cheney. 

Hunting  scenes.  Mallards,  pintail,  teal,  widgeon,  ruddy  duck,  canvasback. 
Lake  Merritt  Refuge.     Life  history — nesting  waterfowl. 

115A     Geese  of  California.     By  H.  C.   Bryant  and  E.   S.  Cheney. 

Canada  goose,  speckled-belly,  Hutchin's  goose,  snow  and  Ross  geese.  Life 
history   of  Canada   goose — nesting,   goslings,   and  home   life.      Hunting   geese. 

119A     Goose   Hunting   in  California.     By  E.  A.  Salisbuiy. 

Historical.  L'.ag  of  over  100  geese  at  Mallard,  Solano  Count\-.  1913.  Shooting 
from  ))its,  live  decoys,  professional  goose  callers. 

120A     Duck   Disease.     Photography  by  E.  S.  Cheney,     Edited  by  H.  Van  Roekel. 

1-ii.ss  through  disease.  ScMentific  investigation — attempts  to  discover  causes. 
Methods  of  i)revention  and  treatment. 

122A     Waterfowl     Refuges    in    California.      Photography    by    E.    S.    Cheney.       (Two 

reels.) 

I'art  1.  Ducks  on  I.,ake  ^lerritt,  California's  ohlest  game  refuge.  Scenes  on 
Richai'dson's  Bay  and  bird  life.  J>evelopment  of  Los  Banos  Refuge  (pur- 
chased by  state,  winter  of  l!i2!t.)  Closeups  of  ducks,  geese  and  swans  at- 
tracted to  refuge. 

Part  2.  Home  Life  of  Birds  in  Los  Banas  Refuge.  Life  histories  and  habits 
of  some  ducks,  shorebirds  and  marsh  birds. 

'125A     Shorebirds.     Photogi-aphy  by  E.  S.  Cheney.     Edited  by  H.   C.   Bryant. 

Nesting  and  young  of  long-billed  curlew  (first  photographic  evidence.)  Young 
black-necked  stilts  and  American  avocets.  Nest  and  eggs  of  western  willet. 
Killdeer,  mountain   plover,   dowitcher,   jacksnipe,   sanderlings  and   sandpipers. 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND   OAME 


155 


»130A     Little   Brown  Cranes.     By  K.  S.  Cheney. 

Life  history.  Wintering  brown  and  sandhill   nanes  fn  Califoiiiia. 
131A     Marsh    Birds.      Photnpi-aiihy    hy    Donald    Dickf>y,    K.    S.    Cheney    and    other.s. 

Kditod  by  H.  C.  Bryant. 

-Mud  hens,  grebes,  rails,  herons,  American  bittern,  egret  and  glossy  ibis. 

135A     Upland  Game  Birds.     By  II.  C.  Bryant  and  E.  S.  Cheney. 

Band-tailed  pigeon,  Sierra  grouse,  sage  lien,  valley  quail.  Quail  hunt  with 
dogs. 

t136A  Quail.  Photograpliy  by  K.  S.  Cheney.  Kdited  by  K.  S.  Cheney  and  D.  1). 
:\rcLean.  Life  history  and  home  life.  Valley  quail,  mountain  quail,  desert 
quail. 

t137A     Sage    Hens  and   Grouse.     \'>y  11.   (\   Bryant  and    10.   S.  Cheney. 
Life  history  and  home  life. 

■M38A  Band-tailed  Pigeons  and  Doves  of  California.  I'.y  H.  C.  Bryant  and  K.  .S. 
Cheney. 

145A     California's   Game    Farm.     By  H.   C.   Bryant. 

Propagation  of  Chinese  ring-necked  pheasant,  Youiitville  fJame  Faini.  Dis- 
play pheasants,  peacocks. 

146A     Propagation  of  Quail  and  Other  Game   Birds,  Yountville  Game  Farm.    Photog- 

rapliy  liy  Sidney  Snow  and  others^.     JOdited  by  Kodney  S.   Ellsworth. 

*147A     Game   Bird   Propagation.     By  Sidney  Snow.      (TwO'  reels.) 

Part  1.  Propagation  of  Chinese  ring-necked  piieasant.s,  .state  game  farm, 
Yountville.  Birdseye  view  of  game  farm.  Preparation  of  food.  Breeding 
stock.     Incubating  eggs — use  of  domestic  mothers. 

Part  2.  Propagation  and  liberation  of  Chinese  pheasants.  Care  of  young 
pheasants  under  artificial  conditions.  Methods  of  liberation  of  immature  and 
mature  birds. 

t170A  Bird  Migration.  Photography  by  E.  S.  Cheney.  Edited  by  E.  S.  Cheney  and 
D.  D.  McLean. 

Congregating  before  migration.  Routes  of  m.igration — flocks  and  individuals 
on  the  way — arrivals  and  departures. 


Non-Game  Birds 

'175A     Bird   Life  on   Clear   Lake.     By  E.  A.   Salisbury. 

Cormorant,  white  pelican  and  heron  rookeries.  Home  life,  showing  nests, 
egg's,  young  and  adults. 

'176A      Bird  Life  on  the  Farallon   Islands.     By  E.  S.  Cheney. 

Nesting  birds — niuries  and  purlins.  Sea  lion  and  seal  rookeries.  A  whaling 
vessel  in  action. 

176B      Bird   Life   on  the   Farallon    Islands.     By  E.   S.  Cheney. 

Nesting  birds — eorninrants  and  western  gulls. 

*177A      Feathered   Fighters  of  the  Farallon    Islands.     By  E.   S.   Cheney. 

The  storj-  of  the  struggle  for  existence  by  sea  birds.  Life  histories  and  inter- 
relations. 

178A     Birds  of  California  Coast  Islands.     Photography  by  Donald  Dickey  and  E.   S. 
Cheney.     Edited  by  H.  C.  Bryant. 
Brown  pelicans,  murres  and  other  seabirds. 

180A     Predatory    Birds.     Photography  by  H.   C.   Bryant  and    E.   S.   Cheney.     Edited 
by  H.  C.  Bryant. 

Home  life  of  osprey.  Young  of  golden  eagle  and  turkey  buzzard.  Great 
horned  owl  and  burrowing  owl.  Nesting  habits  of  prairie  falcon,  red-tailed 
hawk,   marsh  hawk   and   Swainson's  hawk. 

185A     Song   Birds.     Photographv  bv  TT.  C.  Brvant,  E.  S.  Chenev  and  Donald  Dickey. 
Edited  by  H.  C.  Bryant. 
Mockingbird,  least  vireo,  bush   tit,  house  wren. 

186A     Song    Birds.     Photography  bv    E.   S.   Chenev  and  Donald   Dickey.     Edited   by 
H.  C.  Bryant. 

Chickadee,  Sierra  creei)er,  russet-backed  thrush,  wren  tit.  Nests  of  sage 
sparrow,  horned  lark,  California  song  sparrow.     Birds  at  feeding  table. 

190A     Non-Game    Birds.     By   E.    S.   Cheney  and   Donald  Dickey.     Edited   by  H.  C. 
Bryant. 

Gulls  and  terns. 
4 — 74383 


156 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND   GAME 


191A 


192  A 


M98A 


Non-Game   Birds.     Photography  by  K.   S.   Cheney  and  H.   C.   Bryant.     Kdited 
by  H.  C.  Bryant. 

Blue   Jays,    pinyon   jay.s    (first    photographic    evidence},    black-billed    magpies, 
hummingbirds,  swallows  and  black-crowned  night  heron. 

Non-Game  Birds.     Photography  by   K.   S.   Cheney  and  H.  C.   Bryant.     Edited 

by  H.  C.  Bryant. 

Hairy  and  white-headed  woodpeckers,  swifts,  roadrunner,  blackbirds.     Pigmy 

and  red-breasted  nuthatches,  western  kingbird  and  black  phoebe. 


Bird   Architecture.     Photography   by  K.    S.   Cheney. 

and  D.  D.  McLean. 

Nests — their  character,  shape  and  construction. 


Kdited  by  E.    S.   Cheney 


200A 

210A 

*220A 

230A 
230  B 
250A 


t260A 
t270A 


MAMMALS 

Game    Mammals 

California    Valley    Elk.      Photography    l)y    H.    C.    Bryant   and    E.    S.    Cht-ney. 
Edited  by  Rodney  S.   Ellsworth. 

Survivors    of   countless    thousands    in    their    native    haunts.      Preservation    of 
vanishing  big  game  in  Yosemite  and  other  refuges. 

Deer- of  California.     Photography  by  H.  C.  Bryant  and  E.  S.  Cheney.     Edited 
by  Rodney  S.  Ellsworth. 

Methods   of   conserving   big   game  species.      History   of   deer   conservation    in 
Califoinia.      P.lack-tailed   and  mule   deer. 

Prong- Horned    Antelope.      Photography    by    E.    S. 

Cheney  and  Rodney   S.   Ellsworth. 

History    of    anteloi)e    conservation    in    California. 

haunts. 

Big   Horn,  IVlountain   Dweller.     By  E.  S.  Cheney. 
Life  history  and  habits  of  desert  mountain  sheep. 

Same  as  above. 

Non-Game  Mammals 


Cheney.      Edited    by    E.    S. 
Survivors    in    their    native 


H.   C.    Bryant    and    E.    A. 
Ellsworth. 


Stealthy    Stalkers.      Photography   by    E.   S.    Cheney, 

Salisbury.      Kdited  by  H.  C.  Bryant  and  Rodney  S. 

Skunks,  ring-tailed  cat,  badger,  black  bear  and  cubs,  baby  bobcats  and  young 

mountain  lions,  wild  cats  and  mountain  lion  treeing  and  roping. 

Fur  Bearers. 

Non-Game   Mammals. 

Flying  squirrels,  marmot,  porcupine. 


DIVISION   ACTIVITIES 

300A  Conservation  Accomplishments  in  California.  By  E.  S.  Cheney.  (Three  reels.) 
Pictorial  record  of  the  iirogram  to  protect  and  restore  fish  and  game.  Depart- 
mental activities  related  by  a  deputy  in  a  camp  in  the  woods  to  hunters. 

NATURELOGUE   NEWS   REELS 

370A     Duck  Hunting.     By  E.   S.   Cheney. 

Just  before  opening  of  1929  season.     Duck  marshes  and  ponds.     Opening  day 
— some  good  bags. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

400A     Friends    of   the    Summer    Vacationist.      Photography   by  H.    C.   Bryant,    E.    S. 
Cheney  and  E.  A.   Salisbury. 
Yosemite  Falls,  chipmunk,  jays,  fawn,  bear,  porcupine.     Trinity  Game  Refuge. 

450A  California's  Fish  and  Game.  Photography  by  H.  C.  Bryant  and  others. 
Edited  by  H.  C.  Bryant. 

Glimpses  of  operations  Mt.  Shasta  Hatchery — salmon  culture.    Close  up  views 
of  river  fishes.      Important   game   species — deer,  elk,    bear,   ducks,    geese   and 
grouse. 
J1000      From   Hatchery  to  Creek.     (Three  reels,  narrow  16  mm.) 

A  portrayal  of  trout  cultural  operations  in  California.     Same  as  20 A. 


*  Available  only  with  lecturer. 

t  In  course  of  preparation. 

ISeries  1000,  narrow  width  16  mm.  film  only. 


CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND   GAME 


157 


CAUFORNIA  FISH  AND  GAME 


A  publication  devoted  to  the  conserva- 
tion of  wild  life  and  published  quarterly 
by  the  California  Division  of  Fish  and 
Oame. 

Sent  free  to  citizens  of  the  State  of 
California.  Offered  in  exchange  for 
ornithological,  mammaloglcal  and  similar 
periodicals. 

The  articles  published  in  California 
Fish  and  Game  are  not  copyrighted  and 
may  be  reproduced  in  other  periodicals, 
provided  due  credit  is  given  the  Cali- 
fornia Division  of  Fish  and  Game.  Edi- 
tors of  newspapers  and  periodicals  are 
invited  to  make  use  of  pertinent  material. 

All  material  for  publication  should  be 
sent  to  H.  C.  Bryant.  510  Russ  Building, 
San  Francisco,  California. 


MAY    15,   1930 


"The  man  who  illegally  takes  game  and 
fish  cheats  his  fellow  man  and  defrauds 
his  state." 


EMPLOYEES'  CONVENTION 

The  Fifth  Annual  Coiivciition  of  Em- 
ployees of  the  Division  of  Fi.sh  aud  Game 
met  at  the  William  Taylor  Hotel,  San 
Francisco,  on  March  11,  12.  13,  1930. 
Some  one  hundred  and  fifty  employees 
were  present.  It  was  not  possible  for 
hatchery  superintendents  or  their  men  to 
attend  the  meeting  because  of  the  rush 
time  of  year. 

There  was  a  distinct  chaufje  in  the  plan 
of  the  meeting  this  year.  Practically  no 
outside  speakers  appeared  on  the  plat- 
form and  instead  tlie  time  was  devoted 
to  discussion  of  various  subjects  by  the 
men  themselves.  The  lack  of  formality 
proved  helpful  and  tlie  response  was 
pleasing.  There  was  much  wholesome 
discussion,  each  man  contributing  valu- 
able ideas  useful  in  reaching  a  reasonable 
solution  of  ihe  ])rol)lem  in  hand.  The 
morning  of  March  12  was  devoted  to  vari- 
ous subjects  concerned  with  law  enforce- 
ment and  the  afternoon  to  various  topics 
related  to  game  nmnagement.  On  the 
first  afternoon,  the  men  were  given  ad- 
dresses of  welcome  by  Director  F.  G. 
Stevenot,  President  I  Zellerbach,  Com- 
missioner K.  G.  Fernald  and  Executive 
Officer  J.  L.  Farley.  Interesting  re- 
sponses were  made  by  tlie  two  men  oldest 
in  time  of  service,  H.  I.  Priteliarrl  and 
.J.  E.  Newsome.  Charles  A  ^'ogelsang, 
chief  deputy  1901-1910  and  executive 
officer  1920-1922,  gave  an  interesting 
address  on  "The  Old  Days."  dwelling 
principally  upon  the  secviring  of  tiie  liunt- 
ing  license  act  in  1907. 

The  evening  of  March  11  was  devoted 
to  a  showing  of  new  films :   a  three  reel 


featuie  devoted  to  Division  activities,  a 
reel  depicting  the  new  waterfowl  refuge 
at  Los  IJanos  and  a  reel  of  the  best 
scenes  taken  by  official  photographer  E. 
S.  Cheney  during  the  past  year.  The 
program  ended  with  a  splendid  film  de- 
picting fisliing  on  tlie  Klamalli  which  was 
lo.nned  l)y   the  U.  S.  Forest  Service. 

The  last  day  was  given  over  to  a  pistol 
slioot  and  barbecue  at  the  Yountville 
Game  Farm.  Tlu'  silver  ctip  wliieh  has 
been  in  tiie  liands  of  Deputy  Taylor  Lon- 
don for  two  years  passed  into  tlie  hands 
of  Deputy  Cliff  S.  Donliam,  of  Escon- 
dido.  Deputy  London  was  only  two 
points  behind.  A  special  competition 
passed  between  teams  frfim  the  field  and 
a  team  made  up  from  tlie  office  force 
resulted  in  a  team  of  three  from  northern 
Califoiiii.'i  taking  the  prize  money.  A 
splendid  picnic  dinner  was  served  under 
the  direction  of  Walter  Welch.  The 
barbecued   beef  was   tasty   and  bountiful. 

In  the  afternoon  a  baseball  team  made 
up  of  men  from  the  northern  part  of  the 
state  won  the  contest  from  tlie  team  from 
the  south. 

In  many  respects  tliis  c(uivention  was 
the  best  held.  The  men  themselves  felt 
that  they  had  a  real  opportunity  to  con- 
tribute to  the  success  of  the  meeting.  In 
attendance,  it  also  held  a  record. 

IS    FREE    HUNTING    DOOMED    IN 
AMERICA? 

All  thinking  sportsmen  are  beginning 
to  wonder  whether  the  American  system  of 
hunting  can  continue  in  view  of  the 
riglits  of  the  landowner  and  the  obvious 
decrease  of  game.  A  symiH^sium  at  the 
American  Game  Conference  in  December 
participated  in  by  two  well  known  con- 
servationists was  devoted  to  this  subject. 
Both  were  agreed  that  changed  conditions 
must  bring  about  a  modified  system.  In- 
creased license  fees  and  perhaps  a  daily 
fee  for  hunting  to  encourage  the  land- 
owner were  included  in  suggested  modi- 
fications in  the  present  system. 

The  present  system  will  be  justly  criti- 
cized until  game  is  restored  and  a  better 
feeling    maintained    between     those    who 
raise    game    and    tliose    who    hunt    it.      A 
thouglitful     presentation    of    this    impor- 
tant subjcK-t  will  be  found  on  a  preceding 
I  page  under  the  title:  "The  Rights  of  the 
I  Amateur  Sportsman."     On  this  page  we 
,  expressed  the  thoughts  of  a  field  deputy 
on  the  subject.     The  oncoming  generation 
is  going  to  rind  open   hunting  difficult  if 
;  the    present    one    does    not    respect    the 
:  rights  of  those  who  furnish  the  hunting 
grounds. 


158 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND    GAME 


AREAS  CLOSED  TO  HUNTING 
As  time  goes   by    nioi-p  and   more   t-acli 
year   the   rancher  and   property   owner  is| 
tiphteninj;   down   on    allnwinR   hunters   to 
enter  and  hunt  uiwn  his  property.     Twice 
as  much  acreage  is  now  closed  to  hunters, ; 
in   and   adjacent   to   Ventura   County,    as 
there  was  five  years  ago. 

This  condition  to  me  looks  like  one  of 
the  largest  and  n)(>st  important  problems 
now  before  the  ralifornia  Fish  and  (Jame 
Commission  and  the  siwrtsmnn  as  well. 
If  the  problem  exists  generally  over  the 
state  as  it  exists  in  this  vicinity  in  a  few 
jears  the  sportsman  will  have  no  place' 
to  hunt  except  on  land  owned  by  the  fed-, 
eral  government  within  the  national  for-; 
ests,  or  by  paying  landowners  a  fee  to 
hunt  upon  their  property  or  will,  for  the 
most  part,  not  be  allowed  to  hunt  under 
any  circumstances.  Most  all  ow  ners  who 
have  ix»sted  their  property  against  hunt- 
ing will,  and  do,  give  permits  to  a  selected 
few  to  hunt  thereon.  The  average  hunter, 
however,  can  not  get  this  privilege,  but 
they  are  at  the  same  time  the  ones  who 
contribute  the  most  of  the  license  fees 
to  the  state. 

We  are  protecting  the  game  on  areas 
that  are  closed  to  hunting  the  same  as 
on  areas  which  are  open  to  public  hunt- 
ing. It  is  true  that  these  private  prop- 
erties, for  the  most  part,  whicli  are  closed 
to  hunting  do  act  in  some  degree  as 
refuges  and  places  where  game  can  breed 
and  increase,  but  why  protect  and  raise  a 
lot  of  game  if  the  general  public  derives 
no  benefit  from  it. 

I  have  heard  many  sportsmen  the  past 
two  years  make  this  remark :  "Well,  I  am 
going  to  sell  my  shot  gun  and  quit  hunt- 
ing because  everybody  has  their  property 
posted  and  there  is  no  place  to  hunt. 
There  is  no  use  in  buying  a  liunting 
license." 

This  state  of  affairs,  it  seems  to  me, 
will  materially  reduce  the  sale  of  hunting 
licenses,  and  this  is  a  matter  that  vitally 
affects  the  Fish  and  Came  Commission  in 
its  operations.  I  feel  there  is  only  one 
solution  of  the  problem.  The  sportsmen 
must  get  together  with  the  ranchers  and 
propei'ty  owners,  and  agree  on  some 
action  which  will  allow  the  sportsmen  to 
hunt  and  yet  will  give  sufficient  protec- 
tion to  the  projjcrty  owner. 

I  believe  it  is  the  duty  of  all  employees 
of  the  Fish  and  Game  Commission  to 
assist  all  they  can  in  getting  the  sports- 
men and  property  owners  together  on  this 
matter.  These  circumstances  and  condi- 
tions in  relation  to  deer  hunting  ai-e  not 
so  provoked,  of  course,  as  with  small 
game  or  bird  hunting,  because  we  have 
vast  areas  of  government  lands   to  hunt 


this  species  of  game  on,  but  the  same 
lands  in  many  localities  do  not  afford 
much  small  game  shooting.  —  Walter 
Emei-ick.  Ventura.  California. 

ARE   THE    DAYS   OF  FREE   SPORT 
GONE? 

It  is  pointed  out  very  clearly  by  William 
C.  Adams,  director  of  the  division  of  fisli- 
eries  and  game  of  Massachusetts,  in  liis 
annual  report,  that  fishing  and  hunting 
can  no  longer  be  regarded  as  cheap  sport, 
according  to  a  bulletin  of  the  American 
Came  Protective  Association.  Free  hunt- 
ing and  fishing  can  no  longer  be  enjoyed 
in  America  in  the  sense  that  it  can  be 
had  for  nothing.  It  is  only  within  recent 
years  that  the  gunner  and  angler  have 
paid  anything  for  their  sijort  in  the  -way  of 
license  fees,  which  are  as  yet  ridiculously 
small  when  it  is  considered  what  is  ex- 
pected by  way  of  return  for  the  expendi- 
ture. It  is  unreasonable  to  expect  the 
invest)nent  of  a  dollar  or  two  to  yield  the 
maximum  of  game  and  fish  whicii  the 
gunner  and  angler  is  allowed  by  law  to 
take  within  each  open  season,  it  is  time 
that  sportsmen  realized  that  the  fish  and 
game  they  bring  to  bag  can  only  be  in 
proportion  to  the  investment  they  make 
in  it.  Elaborate  and  expensive  etiuip- 
ment  is  necessary  to  maintain  the  propa- 
gation plants  which  must  be  supported  to 
produce  the  large  numbers  required  for 
planting  and  there  must  be  greatly  in- 
creased facilities  for  management  and 
protection. 

Mr.  Adams  says :  "A  large  percentage 
of  us  still  persist  in  nursing  the  hope  that 
some  miracle  will  occur  to  restore  the 
abundance  of  the  past.  Too  many  of  us 
insist  on  harboring  the  fallacy  of  the 
Cod-given  right  of  free  hunting  and  fish- 
ing. Some  still  nurse  the  cliimera  of  a 
so-called  American  system  of  free  fishing 
and  hunting.  These  ideas  must  be  thrown 
into  the  discard  once  and  for  all  if  we  are 
to  deal  with  this  problem  on  its  merits." 

^Ir.  Adams  would  undoubtedly  insist 
upon  maintaining  the  maximum  of  o])i)or- 
tunity  for  all  citizens  on  an  etiual  basis 
and  to  that  end  he  strongly  advocates 
increased  hunting  and  license  fees  which 
would  enable  the  state  to  incrpa.se  its 
facilities  for  sujjplying  the  streams,  lakes 
and  fields  with  fish  and  game.  "'The  pro- 
tection and  propagation  of  tliose  forms  of 
wild  life  which  are  used  for  sporting  pur- 
poses," he  says,  "is  today  recognized  as  a 
business.  In  the  densely  .settled  sections 
of  the  country  it  is  useless  to  hope  for 
the  return  of  certain  species  of  large 
mammals  classed  as  game.  Likewise  it  is 
nursing  a  dream  to  expect,  in  the  future, 
to  fish  in  crystal  streams  flowing  through 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND   GAME 


159 


primeval  forosts.  In  many  of  our  Htrcains 
and  other  waters,  natural  reproduction  of 
the  fish  life  can  not  be  counted  on  for 
any  appreciable  additions  to  the  wild  life 
stock.  In  many  sections  oidy  the  artifi- 
cially propagated  species  of  game  caji  be 
relied  on   fnr  sport." 

WATERFOWL  BAG  LIMIT  REDUCED 
Following  r(>commenda)i<in  by  the  Ad- 
visory Board  Migratory  Bird  Treaty  Act, 
Secretary  Hyde  of  the  United  States  De- 
partment of  Agriculture  announced  on 
December  31.  1029,  that  he  will  issue  a 
regulation  subject  to  the  approval  of  the 
president  cutting  the  federal  bag  limit  on 
wild  ducks  from  25  to  15  i>er  day  ;  on 
geese  from  S  to  4  per  day  :  and  providing 
for  a  possession  limit  of  30  ducks  and  8 
geese  for  the  1930-31  season. 

For  several  years  there  has  been  a 
trend  of  sentiment  toward  a  refluced  bag 
limit.  A  year  ago  when  the  Advisory 
Tommittee  met  it  looked  as  if  a  favorable 
recommendation  would  be  furthcoming, 
but  decision  was  made  to  await  further 
data  as  to  decrease  which  was  being  se- 
cured by  the  United  States  Biological 
Survey.  This  year  the  chief  of  the  Bio- 
logical Survey  reported  that  the  investi- 
gation indicated  that  waterfowl  have  not 
been  returning  in  usual  numbers.  As 
indicative  of  a  changing  sentiment,  it 
sliould  be  noted  that  some  20  different 
states  have  reduced  the  bag  limit  below 
that  set  by  the  federal  government. 
Though  a  strong  .sentiment  favoring 
reduction  has  developed  in  most  other 
states,  opinion  is  still  markedly  divided 
in  the  states  of  Louisiana  and  California. 
In  our  own  state,  rnembeis  of  a  duck  club 
organization  have  fought  the  reduction 
of  the  limit,  maintaining  that  increased 
feeding  grounds  were  far  more  imi)ortan( 
tlian  the  bag  limit  reduction.  On  tlic 
other  hand,  a  majority  of  unattached 
s])ortsmen  apiwar  to  have  favored  a  lower 
bag  limit.  The  reduction  has  been  vigor- 
ously insisted  )ipon  by  the  principal  game 
associations,  the  Izaak  Walton  League  of 
.Vmerica.  the  Western  Association  of 
(lame  Cominissioners  and  the  Association 
of  North  Central  States  Came  Commis- 
sioners. At  its  annual  meeting  in  Decem- 
ber. 1020,  the  American  Game  Confer- 
ence adopted   resolutions  to  this  end. 

The  new  regulations  will  go  in  force 
before  the  opening  of  the  next  waterfowl 
season.  It  is  expected  that  there  will  be 
littl"  trouble  relative  to  violations  in  that 
njost  sportsmen  will  wish  to  take  any 
step  which  may  improve  the  status  of 
wild  fowl. 


WHO    IS    GOING    TO    ENFORCE    THE    15 
BAG   LIMIT    ON    DUCKS? 

Ever  since  the  Secretary  of  Agricul- 
ture i.ssued  a  statement  indicating  that 
federal  regulations  now  provided  for  a 
fifteen  bag  limit  on  ducks,  tliere  has  l)een 
much  discussion  as  to  how  ih"  regula- 
tion could  be  enforced  in  California  where 
a  twenty-five  bag  limit  was  re-ently  ok'd 
by  a  session  of  the  legislature.  It  is  evi- 
dent that  state  officials  can  not  take  an 
active  hand  in  enforcing  the  new  bag 
limit.  Many  are.  thenjfore.  prerlidMig 
conflict  of  autliority  and  nuinerous  viola- 
tions when  the  duck  season  opens  next 
December.  The  situation,  however,  is  not 
serious,  for  there  is  a  federal  game  war- 
den in  California  and  he  has  authority  to 
appoint  numerous  deputies.  I'"'urther- 
more,  federal  game  wardens  coidd  easily 
be  concentrated  in  those  states  u-hei-e 
difficulties  were  expected.  The  danger  of 
being  hailed  into  a  federal  court  will  be 
a  deterrent  to  all  except  tho.se  who  are 
willing  to  take  a  chance. 

But  why  this  discussion?  WIm  i^ 
going  to  violate  the  law?  Will  a  true 
sportsman,  even  if  he  believes  in  states' 
rights,  purposely  violate  a  law  designed 
to  help  his  sport?  Will  those  wlio  have 
talked  most  about  their  altruistic  interest 
in  conservation  attempt  to  upset  a  plan 
backed  by  the  organized  grotip  of  fisli  and 
game  commissioners  of  western  states? 
Will  the  minority  systematically  violate 
a  regulation  because  they  do  no"-  approve 
of  it?     We  tliink  not. 

MORE    ATLANTIC    SALMON     FOR 
CALIFORNIA 

Assurance  that  the  experimental  intro- 
duction of  the  Atlantic  salmon  into  suit- 
able waters  in  California,  is  to  be  con- 
tinued is  to  be  found  in  the  announce- 
ment that  20,000  eggs  of  this  tish  have 
been  allotted  to  California  by  the  CInited 
States  Bureau  of  Fislieries.  In  addition 
an  exchange  agreement  has  been  enrerrd 
into  between  the  Bureau  of  P^ish  Culture 
and  the  Department  of  Marine  lisitcvies 
of  the  Dominion  of  Canada  for  an  addi- 
tional 25.000  Atlantic  salmon  eargs. 

These  eggs  will  be  delivered  in  tin- 
si>ring  and  will  l)(<  liafclit-d  and  re.-ifcd  ;it 
tlie  Cold  Creek  Hatchery  in  Mcndociun 
County.  The  water  supply  of  this  li.-itcli- 
ery  has  been  found  to  Ix*  particularly 
adapted  to  the  rearing  of  this  .fish.  Dur- 
ing the  season  of  1020.  25.000  Atlantic 
salmon  were  reared  in  this  hatchery. 

The  propagation  of  Atlantic  salmon  by 
the  Bureau  of  Fish  Culture  is  being  car- 
ried on  in  an  effort  to  establish  tliis 
species  in  the  streams  of  the  northwest- 
ern portion  of  the  state  where  it  is  ex- 
pected to  greatly  improve  sport. 


160 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND    GAME 


IN    MEMORIAM 


EDWARD  D.  RICKETTS 

D('l)uty  Edward  I).  Ric-ketts,  one  of  the 
veteran  deputies  ii]  tlie  Patrol  Deiiart- 
ineut,  was  stricken  by  the  liand  of  death 
January  4,  1J)80,  at  CoacheHa.  (Jalifoniia. 
Mr.  Rieketts  was  appointed  as  a  deputy 
on  October  1,  1910,  and  served  for  many 
years:  at  Live  Oak  in  the  Sacramento 
Valley.  On  account  of  his  varied  exi>eri- 
ence,  "Sir.  Rieketts  was  particularly  val- 
uable in  the  duck  country.  He  knew 
ducks  and  their  habits  as  few  men  do.  In 
more  recent  years  he  was  stationed  in 
southern  (California,  more  rec-ently  in  the 
Imperial  Valley. 

He  was  born  at  Live  Oak.  Califjriiia, 
in  November,  1881.  The  remains  were 
shipped  to  Live  Oak  for  interment.  A 
son,  Edward  D.  Rieketts,  Jr.,  12  years 
old.  lives  at  Daly  City,  California.  In 
addition  to  his  son,  a  sister  and  two 
brothers,    he  leaves   a  host  of  friends  to 


mourn  his  sudden  passing.     As  he  was  a 
member    of    the     I>enevolent    Protective 
Order  of  Elks,  it  is  fitting  to  quote: 
"The  faults  of  our   brothers  we  write 

uiK)n  the  sands. 
Their  virtues  upon  tablets  of  love  and 
memory." 


STREAMS    CLOSED    TO    FISHING,    1930 

In  kcciiiiif;  with  the  plan  to  work  with 
the  siportsnicii  of  the  state  in  conserva- 
tion matters,  the  I>ivision  of  Fish  and 
Game  of  the  Department  of  Natural  Re- 
sources has  announced  a  program  of 
stream  closing  to  be  effective  when  the 
trout  season  opens  in  California  on  the 
first  of  May. 

In  order  that  sportsmen,  vacationists 
and  re.sort  owners  may  be  forewarned  of 
the  proposed  closing  of  certain  streams 
to  angling,  a  list  of  the  streams  where 
fishing  will  be  ]>rohibited  has  been  pre- 
pared. In  all  cases  these  streams  have 
been  set  aside  only  upon  a  showing  that 
the  proposed  steps  are  essential  to  the 
conservation  of  trout. 

The  purpose  of  this  closing  order  is  to 
furllicr  protect  the  trout  with  which  the 
various  waters  of  the  state  have  been 
stocked,  of  insuring  their  growth  and 
better  means  of  propagation  as  well  as 
providing  an  adequate  supply  of  trout 
eggs  for  the  various  trout  hatcheries,  to 
tlie  end  of  imiiroving  fishing  conditions 
generally  throughout  the  state.  The 
streams  closed  rei)resent  only  a  very  small 
propoi'tion  of  tlic  fishing  waters  of  the 
state. 

Tlie  following  areas  are  affected  by 
the  closing  oi'der  : 

Sacnnnoilo  h'irer  Water  Shed 

^fodoc  County — Mill  Creek  and  tribu- 
taries above  Clear  I^ake  in  the  South 
Warner  district. 

Shasta  County— All  of  Hazel  and  Shot- 
gun creeks  and  tributaries;  Old  Cow 
Creek  from  the  l\  G.  &  E.  Go's,  hydro- 
electric plant  to  its  source. 

Siskiyou  County— All  of  Soda  Creek 
and  tributaries. 

Tuolumne  County- — I'liocnix  Lake  and 
tribut.-iries  closed  during  1980  (does  not 
include  Sullivan  Creek).  Emigrant. 
Buck,  Deer  and  Huckleberry  lakes  and 
all   tributaries  closed   until   July   1,    1930. 

Plumas  County — Clear  Creek  and  trib- 
utaries. Thon]i)son  Creek  and  tributaries, 
Tollgate  Creek  and  tributaries.  Black 
Hawk  Creek  and  tributaries,  Rock 
Creek  and  tributaries,  all  in  the  vicinity 
of  Quincy ;  Red  Clover  Creek  and  tribu- 
taries (a  tributary  of  Indian  Creek)  ; 
Butt    Creek    from    Almanor    Tunnel    to 


CALIFORNIA    PISH    AND   GAME 


161 


Butt  Lake  (Butt  Creek  closed  only  from 
November  1  to  May  29)  ;  Mos(niito 
Creek,  tributary  to  the  Feather  Kiver 
near  Belden ;  Hamilton  Branch  of  the 
Feather  Kiver  from  the  Iron  Bridge 
located  three-fourths  mile  above  the  Ked 
River  hydro-electric  plant  to  the  mouth 
of  said  branch,  and  thence  all  of  that 
portion  of  Lake  Almanor  within  a  radius 
of  300  feet  of  said  mouth. 

Sierra  and  Plumas  counties — All 
streams  flowiuK  into  (iold.  (!rass,  Jami- 
son, Smith,  Lons,  Kound  and  Rock  lakes 
for  a  distance  of  2000  feet  upstream 
from  their  mouths  and  all  outlets  for  a 
distance  of  2000  feet  from  the  lakes  and 
all  that  portion  of  the  lakes  within  a 
radius  of  'SOO  feet  of  their  inlets  and  out- 
lets will  be  closed  until  July  1,  1930,  and 
will  close  after  September  30,  1930.  All 
of  these  lakes  are  located  in  the  Mt. 
Elwoll  section  near  Blairsden. 

Nevada  County — Culverson  Lake  and 
tributaries.  Upper  and  Lower  Lindsey 
lakes  and  tributaries. 

Tahoe  and  Truckee  River  Water  Shed 
IMartis  (a  tributary  of  Truckee  Kiver), 
Alder  (a  tributary  of  Prosser  Creek), 
Sage  Hen  (a  tributary  of  Little 
Truckee)  and  all  their  tributaries;  Griffs, 
Slim  Jim,  Burton.  Ward.  Blackwood. 
iSIadden.  McKinney.  General,  Meeks. 
Lonely  Gulch,  Rubicon.  Eagle,  Cascade. 
Taylor,  Upper  Truckee,  Trout  and  Cold 
creeks  and  all  their  tributaries.  All  of 
these  streams  with  the  above  exceptions 
ar(>  tributaries  of  Lake  Tahoe. 

El  Dorado  County — Waco  or  Crystal. 
Pyramid,  Gefo,  Jabu  or  Summit,  Cup, 
Clyde  or  Emerald.  Ivouiid.  P^lbort  and 
I>ardanelle   lakes. 

Alpine  County — East  and  West  Carson 
i-ivers  from  the  California-Nevada  bound- 
ary line  to  their  sources,  closed  to  May 
30.  1930.  Winnemuca.  Scotts  and  Burn- 
side  lakes  and  tributaries  closed  to  ^lay 
30,  1930. 

San  Joa(iuin  Water  Shed 
Tulare  County — Brush  Creek  and  trib- 
utaries and  Tobias  Creek  and  tributaries. 
Kern  River  and  Big  Kern  Lake  between 
Horse  Trail  Bridge  and  the  outlet  of 
Itig  Kern   Lake. 

Fresno  County — All  streams  and  their 
tributaries  flowing  into  Huntington  Lake 
except  Big  Creek. 

Coast  Counties 
Humboldt  County — Prairie  Creek  and 
tributaries  to  its  junction  with  Redwood 
Creek.  All  that  portion  of  Dobbyn  Creek 
and  tributaries  lying  in  Humboldt 
County. 


Mendocino  County — All  that  portion 
of  the  North  Fork  of  the  Noyo  River 
and  tributaries  above  its  junction  with 
the  Noyo  River  at  North  Spur. 

Lake  County — Willow,  Rice.  Deer, 
Trout,  Sod.'i  and  Salmon  creejjs  and  trib- 
utaries. 

San  Mateo  and  Santa  Cruz  r-ounties — 
Pescadero  and  Butano  creeks  and  all 
tributaries  above  tidewater. 

Santa  Cruz  County^All  watei-s  after 
August  1,  1930,  excei)t  tidewater. 

Southern  California 

Mono  and  Inyo  counties — Middle  Cot- 
tonwood Lake  and  streams  connecting 
with  lakes  above  and  below.  Reverse 
Creek  and  tributaries  between  June  Lake 
and  Rush  Creek.  That  portion  of  June 
Lake  lying  north  of  an  east  and  west  line 
drawn  to  close  the  north  one-third  area 
of  said  lake. 

Many  streams  that  were  dosed  during 
the  1929  season  will  be  open  to  fishing 
this  year.  In  Humboldt  County,  Yager 
Tud  Anderson  creeks  will  be  open.  In 
El  Dorado  County,  Rainbow.  Grouse. 
Toem  and  LeConte  lakes  will  again  be 
open.  Bunker  Lake  in  Placer  County  is 
again  open  to  fishing.  All  streams  flow- 
ing into  Shaver  Lake  and  all  streams 
tributary  to  Dinkey  Creek  in  Fresno 
County  are  open.  In  Tulare  County. 
Mclntire.  Boulder,  Bear,  Coy  and  Alder 
creeks  and  tributaries  are  open.  In 
southern  California,  Devil's  Canyon 
Creek  and  tributaries  in  Los  Angeles 
County  and  Holy  Jim  Creek  and  tribu- 
taries in  Orange  County  will  be  oiieii. 

CLUB  PLANTS  MORE  THAN  A 
MILLION  TROUT 

The  Mt.  Ralston  Fish  Planting  Club 
()f  Sacramento  has  put  energy  into  a 
single  project,  that  of  systematically  and 
wisely  stocking  the  lakes  and  streams  of 
the  Echo  Lake  region.  Ijfist  year  the  cluh 
planted  l,0ri8.0.32  trout.  Many  of  the 
lakes  planted  by  the  club  (hiring  192.~>. 
1920.  1927  and  192S.  were  restocked. 

The  club  has  now  planted  ten  lakes 
which  never  before  had  trout  in  them,  and 
five  other  lakes  in  which  little  or  no 
evide!ice  of  tish  life  could  W  found.  Such 
of  these  lakes  as  were  planted  in  192.">. 
192(1  and  11>27.  were  carefully  inspected 
during  the  past  season  and  the  trout 
showed  wonderfid  growth,  giving  promise 
of  raie  sport  in  the  years  to  come. 

With  the  heavy  stocking  of  these 
waters  the  members  have  turned  their 
attention  to  the  planting  of  trout  foods, 
and  this  matter  will  receive  most  careful 
consideration  during  the  coming  season. 
Four   years   ago    nniumnnix    Afresh    water 


162 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND    GAME 


sliriini))  wcip  introdiict'il  into  several  of 
the  lakes.  These  gammarus  are  taking 
Iiold  in  several  areas  where  they  were 
introduced,  but  enough  time  has  not  j'et 
elapsed  to  forecast  from  observation  the 
jwssible  value  of  gaiiniinnts  in  these  lakes. 
(Uitnitinrns  were  again  planted  in  192S 
and  l'J2!l.  In  a  number  of  lakes  contain- 
ing mud  bottom  areas,  wild  Sierra  water 
lilies  and  vai-ious  other  water  iilants  and 
water  grasses  have  been  planted. 

Such  activities  are  most  hcliiful  to  the 
consei'vation  cause. 

CALIFORNIA'S   DEER 

A  recent  summary  of  big  game  animals 
.sent  out  by  the  United  States  Forest 
Service  gives  a  total  of  748.00:>  tleer  in 
;ill  of  the  national  forests  of  the  United 
States  and  Alaska.  Of  that  number,  245,- 
000  are  credited  to  the  national  forests 
of  California.  That  means  that  a  third 
of  all  the  deer  in  the  national  forests  of 
the  country  are  in  California. 

The  same  summary  shows  that  there 
are  in  the  same  national  forests  52,281 
black  and  brown  bear,  of  which  number 
11,200  are  to  be  found  in  California, 
Mlniost  22  per  cent  of  the  bear  popul.-ition 
of  the  forests  of  the  entire  cvnintry. 

PHEASANTS  PLANTED  IN  MONO 
COUNTY 

On  December  IS,  1929,  forty  pair  of 
)-iiig-necked  pheasants  were  planted  in 
northern  Mono  County   in   Aiiteloiie   Val- 


ley. Though  the  birds  were  delivered  on 
the  evening  of  December  16.  due  to 
stormy  and  unsettled  weather  conditions, 
they  could  not  be  released  until  Decem- 
ber 21.  However,  they  were  kept  in  a 
very  large  and  clean  enclosure  until  the 
day  of  their  release. 

On  December  21,  1929,  the  pheasants 
were  liberated  on  the  i)roperties  of  Sampe, 
Chichester,  Pitts  and  Soomeepon.  When 
out  of  their  cages,  some  of  them  flew  a 
quai-ter  of  a  mile  while  others  flew  but 
a  few  feet  and  ran  to  hide  in  some  shel- 
tering underbrush  or  willow  patch.  Most 
of  them  when  coming  out  of  their  cages, 
would  fly  straight  up  for  about  ten  to 
twenty  feet  and  then  straighten  out. 
After  settling  they  would  hide. 

By  a  petition  circulated  in  September 
among  the  landowners  on  whose  land  the 
birds  were  to  be  released,  over  seven 
thousand  acres  of  the  most  suitable 
pheasant  lands  in  the  entire  valley  were 
reserved.  Every  signer  has  been  helpful 
and  cooperative  in  every  respect,  being 
very  pi-oud  to  have  this  game  bird  intro- 
duced into  the  valley. 

There  is  no  reason  why  the  plieasant 
will  not  prosper  in  Antelope  Valley. 
There  is  an  abundance  of  food  and  above 
all,  wonderful  cover.  The  justice  of  the 
l)eace  of  Antelope  Valley  states,  "Woe 
be  unto  the  man  who  molests  one  of  these 
birds." 

The  Nevada  Fish  and  (iame  Commis- 
sion brouglit  the  pheasants  from  Reno  to 


n 

51 

s 

III 

1 

^i\ 


■Via.  5.j.     Buildings  for  help  and  the  incubator  house,  all  of  Spanish  architecture 
at    the    new    Serrauos    (Manie    Farm,    at    Chino. 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND    OAMK 


163 


^liiiilon,  and  Ilciiry  Achisoii  n{  the  Forest 
Sorvifo  brouglit  tlioin  on  into  ( 'olcxillc. 
They,  too.  dpsorvo  a  srejit  deal  of  tliaiiks 
for  thoii'  siileiulid  cooperation. 

CONFISCATED    GAME 

When  Imntcrs  and  tislicrnicn  aro  found 
with  s<'"in'  l>irds,  animals  or  lish  in  their 
possession  contrary  to  the  game  laws  of 
the  state,  wartleiis  making  arrests  are 
empowered  to  seize  tlie  illejjal  kill.  After 
the  niiiteriiil  has  been  held  as  evidence  in 
the  trial  of  the  \i()lators,  the  seized  evi- 
dence, if  ill  condition  to  be  used,  is  at 
once  given  to  those  organizations  whei'e  it 
will  do  the  most  good. 

A  large  (piantity  of  illegal  game  was 
seized  dining  J.inuary  l!)oO.  Included 
was  f)8.~)  i>ounds  of  deer  meat.  Aiiother 
important  item  was  wild  duck,  with  a 
total  of  457  birds  being  taken  from 
hunters. 

A  total  check  of  the  fish  .•nid  game 
taken  from  those  who  had  it  in  their  pos- 
session illegally  sho^\■s  that,  besides  the 
venison  and  waterfowl  above  noted,  204 
lobsters,  1  pheasant,  four  cottontail  rab- 
bits, 19  quail.  IMo  nougame  birds.  471 
abiilones,  .34S  Pismo  clams,  1  dove,  108 
crabs,  53  jacksnipe.  25  trout.  SO  pounds 
of  steelhead  and  2  striped  bass  w^ere 
seized.       In     value     these     donations     to 


charity  amounted  to  $1,527.80  in  .Janu.ary 
alone. 

SEEK  PROTECTION  FOR  BALD 
EAGLE 

Many  a  visitor  to  <':ilifi>i-nia  has  been 
thrilled  by  the  sight  of  a  bald  eagle 
perched  on  a  crag  of  one  of  the  coastal 
islands.  Likewise,  the  summer  vacatirn:- 
ist  has  been  thi-illed  by  the  fishing  activi- 
ties of  a  bald  eagle  in  some  high  mountain 
lake.  Such  thrills,  however,  are  becoming 
of  rare  occurrence,  r.jrd  students  now  fear 
the  actual  extinction  of  this  notable  bird. 

Senate  Bill  200S.  by  Senator  Peter  S. 
Xorbeck,  and  House  P>ill  7!)!>4,  by  August 
IT.  Aiidresen  introduced  in  congress  Jan- 
uary T),  1930.  have  the  en^lors'-im  nt  of 
the  National  Committee  on  AVild-T>ife 
Legislation. 

Each  bill  reads  : 

"Be  it  enacted  hi/  the  Senate  and 
Ifousc  of  Representatives  of  the  United 
States  of  America  in  (Jon<iress  assembled. 
That  it  shall  be  unlawful  for  any  i)erson 
to  kill  or  cai)ture  any  bald  eagle  ( com- 
monly known  as  the  American  eaglet 
within  the  continental  United  St.-ites. 
Alaska.  I'orto  Kico.  or  Hawaii,  oi-  to  dis- 
turb or  destroy  any  nest,  or  egg  or  eggs  of 
such  sjiecies  of  eagle  found  therein  ;  pro- 
vided, however,  that  it  shall  not  be  un- 


Fio 


.")tj.  Pine  Marten,  one  of  the  fur  bearers,  the  take  of  which  is  diminishing- 
from  year  to  year.  The  average  price  of  pelts  taken  last  trapping  season 
amounted  to  .?14.50.  Photograph  by  E.  P.  Steen,  January  10,  1929, 
Huntington    Lake,    California. 


164 


CALirORNIA   FISH   AND   GAME 


lawful  to  kill  any  such  eagle  or  eagles 
within  such  area  when  in  the  act  of 
destroying  wild  or  tame  lambs  or  fawns, 
or  foxes  on  fox  farms. 

Sec.  2.  Any  person  who  shall  violate 
any  of  the  provisions  of  this  act  shall  be 
subject  to  a  fine  of  .$100  or  confinement 
in  prison  not  to  exceed  sixty  days,  or  both, 

Sec.  3.  Tliis  act  shall  be  Utiowu  by 
the  short  title  'Bald  Eagle  Protection 
Act.'  " 

Sentiment  alone  should  have  been  sufl5- 
cient  to  protect  this  noble  bird.  Certainly, 
it  will  be  strong  enough  to  assure  the 
passage  of  a  bill  now  before  congress, 
approved  by  the  National  Association  of 
Audubon  Societies,  which  will  afford  full 
protection  to  the  bald  eagle  througliout 
the  United  States  and  Alaska.  It  is 
surprising  that  so  worthy  a  jneasure  lias 
been  so  long  delayed. 

CALIFORNIA'S   TAKE   OF    FUR- 
BEARING    ANIMALS 

Ever  since  a  trapper's  license  law  was 
enacted,  a  computation  has  been  made  of 
the  annual  take  of  fur  bearing  mammals. 
As  was  to  be  expected,  the  compilation 
for  1928-29  indicates  a  marked  decrease 
in  both  take  and  valuation.  At  least  one 
reason  for  smaller  figures  during  the  past 


year  is  to  be  found  in  the  change  in  the 
law  which  took  all  protection  from  fur 
bearers  in  the  great  central  valley. 

As  indicated  in  the  figiires  more  than 
64,000  less  animals  are  reiwrted  and  the 
income  to  the  state  has  dropped  nearly 
;';2(K),()()0.  Average  prices  r;inged  higher 
the  past  year  on  skunk,  foxes,  mink,  ring- 
tailed  cat,  badger,  weasel,  river  otter  and 
fisher.  It  is  interesting  to  note  the 
dwindling  numbers  of  those  rare  fur 
bearers,  the  fisher  and  wolverine.  Where- 
as twenty-nine  fishers  were  reported  two 
years  ago.  but  seven  are  recorded  for  the 
past  year ;  the  wolverine  no  longer  ap- 
l>ears  in  the  report. 

It  should  be  noted  that  minors  under 
the  age  of  18  years  are  not  retiuired  to 
take  out  a  license,  nor  are  there  records 
for  furs  taken  for  private  use  or  those 
killed  in  predatory  animal  campaigns. 

THE  NEW  LOS  BANOS  REFUGE 
ISIy  impression  of  the  Los  Banos 
Refuge  at  first  was  rather  disappointing, 
and  it  is  only  after  spending  s(>veral 
weeks  in  close  contact  with  the  proi>erty 
that  I  have  been  able  to  realize  some- 
thing of  the  value  of  these  3000  acres  as 
a  game  refuge,  and  their  possibilities  for 
development.       Water  is  plentiful,  being 


SUMIVIARY— FUR-BEARING  MAMMALS 
Seasons  1927-28  and  192&-29 


Species 

Estimated  number 

Average  price 

Estimated  value 

1927-28 

1928-29 

1927-28 

1928-29 

1927-28 

1928-29 

3kunk      --- -- 

56,438 

19,182 

14,242 

24,736 

12,250 

13,941 

9,425 

5,854 

4,368 

2,208 

844 

1,216 

661 

495 

700 

239 

163 

123 

88 

29 

39,407 

10,758 

10,751 

10,262 

8,401 

8,021 

5,788 

2,751 

2,486 

1,196 

1,098 

916 

452 

448 

431 

146 

101 

51 

37 

7 

SI  56 

5  47 
2.50 

70 

2  82 

6  45 
63 

7  78 

3  28 
78 

2  36 

2  14 

91 

15  30 

14  09 

&93 
17  74 

6  48 
12  85 
39  28 

$1  68 

5  00 

2  91 

49 

2  22 
5  81 

60 
8  50 

3  41 
66 

2  60 

3  24 
93 

14  50 
13  23 

4  16 

$88,269  03 

105,002  27 

35,661  97 

17,537  82 

$66,203  76 

Raccoon      

53,790  00 

Fox  (erav)              

31,285  41 

Muskrat               _....-  

5,028  38 

Wild  eat --- 

34,655  25             18,650  22 

89,947  33 

5,994  30 

45,555  83 

14,331  41 

1,735  49 

1,996  90 

2,605  89 

606  80 

7,574  49 

46,602  01 

3,472  80 

Mink             -  

23,383  50 

Ringtailed  cat      

8,477  26 

Onossum                        -   

789  36 

Kit  fox        --- 

2,856  80 

2,967  84 

420  36 

Marten                   . 

6,496  00 

Beaver                     __._ 

9,867  90  i            5,702  13 

Bear        - 

1,657  47                  607  36 

18  63  '           2,891  95  i             1,881  6:? 

Red  fox            -- 

18  60  '              798  15  !               048  60 

12  06  ,           1.131  06  '               446  22 

Fisher --- 

42  86 

1,139  15                 300  02 

Totals 

167,202 

103,508 

$468,960  46  |       $280,309  66 

1927-28 

1928-29 

5,243 

3,402 

64.9% 

6,482 

3.652 

56.3% 



CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND    GAME 


165 


supplied  from  a  generous  diU-li  aloufi 
about  two  miles  of  the  west  iKniiulary. 
Then  there  are  a  number  of  natural 
watercourses,  some  of  whieh  are  used  as 
spawning  groun<ls  for  salmon.  The  land 
also  contains  a  number  of  lakes  and 
iwnds,  extensive  arras  tluit  can  be  easily 
ditched  and  made  into  resting  and  feed- 
ing grounds.  There  are  also  numerous 
swales  and  sloughs  that  are  inviting  to 
the  nesting  birds.  Considerable  of  the 
land  is  suitable  for  the  production  of 
grain  and  other  crops  for  feed — tlie  grain 
to  be  harvested  oi-  the  fields  flooded  and 
left  to  the  birds.  There  is  a  great  deal  of 
natural  feed  which  has  held  thousands  of 
ducks  this  season.  On  shooting  days  150,- 
000  to  200.000  dncks  could  be  seen  on 
one  of  the  larger  ponds  at  one  time.  One 
slough  running  through  the  proiK-rty  has 
held  upward  of  10,000  green- winged  teal 
at  a  time.  Geese  and  cranes  find  plenty 
of  pasturage  and  a  safe  retreat.  Swan 
have  been  seen  daily  upon  the  ponds, 
where  140  were  counted,  30  of  which 
were  young  birds.  One  day  over  800 
Ross  Snow  geese  settled  down  just  above 
my  blind  ;  other  Snow  geese  were  present 
every  day  by  the  thousands,  and  a  lesser 
number  of  Ilutchins,  Cackling,  and  Can- 
ada geese. 

I  saw  many  winged  birds,  and  many 
with  crippled  legs  about  my  photographic 
blinds  where  I  had  the  ground  baited. 

This  refuge  is  c("rtainly  a  move  in  the 
right  direction,  and  something  that  every 
sportsman  should  he  interested  in  seeing 
develfiped. — V..   S.   Cheney. 


SERRANOS    GAfVIE    FARM    DEDICATED 

Tlie  formal  dedication  of  tlie  new 
Serranos  (Janie  Farm  at  Chino  occurred 
on  December  S,  ]!lli!l,  with  an  im|>ressive 
ceremony  and  barlx'cue.  The  Izaal;  Wal- 
ton chapters  of  southern  California  pro- 
vided a  i>i-ogram  of  evetits  stimulating  to 
the  sportsmen  ami  lover  of  the  out-of- 
doors.  Many  tine  trophies  donated  by  the 
Jlichtield  ( )il  Company  were  won  as  re- 
wards for  skill  in  marksmanshij).  A 
special  lilwi-ation  of  fifty  phejisants  was 
made.  I'esides  fifiicers  of  the  division,  I. 
Zellerbach,  president  of  the  Fish  and 
Game  Commission ;  Fred  G.  Stevenot. 
director  of  the  Department  of  Natural 
Resources,  and  Ray  L.  Riley  representing 
(Governor  C.  C.  Young,  spoke. 

The  new  farm  was  fully  stocked  before 
its  dedication  with  pheasants,  quail,  part- 
ridges and  wild  turkeys  from  the  Yount- 
ville  farm,  and  will  participate  in  profliie- 
tion  this  year. 

The  land  on  which  the  faiin  siluat<><l 
was  donated  by  the  L)avi(lson  Investment 
Company  of  Long  Beach  throtigh  the  gen- 
erosity of  C.  E.  Davidson. 

The  lo<*ation  is  Ixdii'ved  to  be  ideal  for 
projiagation  purjioses.  In  its  structural 
features,  the  farm  represents  the  most 
improved  type  of  construction.  The  en- 
closures are  entirely  of  steel  sui)ports 
permitting  galvanized  wire  to  be  used  to 
a  high  advantage  from  the  standiMiint  of 
durability.  The  hiiihlings  are  patterned 
after  the  Mission  style  so  charactei-istic 
iif  <';ilifciniia.    and   comprise,   besides  coin- 


I 


Fig.  57.  Seining  -striped  ba.ss  near  Tracy,  California.  December,  192S,  for  experi- 
mental planting  in  Salton  Sea.  This  Is  typical  of  the  work  of  the  Bureau  of 
Fish  Rescue  anrl    Rpclamation.      Photograph  by  Oeorge  Neale. 


166 


CALTPORNIA    FTSH    AND    GAME 


fortable  living  quarters  for  tlie  attend- 
ants, an  incubator  liouse  and  rooms  for 
storage  and  prej)aration  of  food.  The 
same  type  of  siirinkliiiii:  and  watering 
system  which  so  luaterialb*  aids  efficient 
oiJeration  at  the  Yountville  Game  Farm 
is  used.  The  electric  incubator  and 
brooding  system,  considered  impractical 
until  proved  successful  at  the  Yountville 
farm,  is  also  to  be  employed.  In  short, 
the  farm  embodies  in  almost  everj'  detail 
the  latest  advancements  and  improve- 
ments in  the  field  of  game  bird  production. 

IT  IS  UNLAWFUL  TO   KIDNAP  FAWNS 

Despite  repeated  warnings  issued  by 
the  Division,  ijcrsons  seem  to  feel  the 
urge  to  "save"  some  "poor  little  aban- 
doned fawn"  and  insist  on  picking  it  up 
and  taking  it  home.  It  is  a  violation  of 
the  game  laws  to  do  so.  Recently  a  resi- 
dent of  Sacramento  Valley  paid  a  fine  of 
$50  for  taking  a  fawn. 

Persons  who  come  ujton  fawns  which 
look  emaciated  and  as  though  they  have 
been  abandoned  by  the  mothers  must  real- 
ize this  is  their  natural  appearance.  A 
mother  deer  never  abandons  her  young 
and  often  is  away  foraging  for  food, 
watching  from  a  concealed  spot  while  the 
baby  deer  is  taken. 

All  persons  are  warned  not  to  take 
fawns.  In  case  they  feel  the  fawn  has 
lost  its  mother,  tlie  thing  to  do  is  fix  the 
location  in  one's  mind  and  notify  the 
nearest  game  warden  or  forest  ranger, 
who  will  see  tliat  the  little  animal  is 
taken  care  of. 

CALIFORNIA     QUAIL      SELECTED     AS 
STATE    BIRD 

The  campaign  to  select  a  state  bird  has 
been  closed.  The  California  Audubon  So- 
ciety and  the  Audubon  Association  of  the 
Pacific,  two  organizations  most  active  in 
promoting  balloting,  liave  announced 
votes  totaling  in  tlie  hundred  thousands. 
School  children  were  urged  to  study  birds 
in  order  that  they  might  vote  intelli- 
gently. Women's  clubs  studied  birds  in 
order  that  they  miglit  cast  a  ballot.  No 
finer  campaign  of  education  lias  been 
waged  in  recent  years.  Tlie  California 
valley  qiuiil  led  a  scattered  field  with 
western  bluebird,  Bullock  oriole  and 
Anna  hummingbird  tiailing. 

In  view  of  the  discussion  as  to  which 
variety  of  quail  should  be  ciiosen  the  fol- 
lowing statement  by  a  well  known  old- 
time  sportsman  and  writer,  Y.  T.  Payne, 
is  pertinent : 

"Glad  to  hear  of  your  success  in  plac- 
ing the  gamest  of  all  bii-ds  on  the  escut- 
cheon of  the  state.  The  Lophortn-r  cdli- 
forniciis    f  the  type  \0jf  the  genu?)-,  is  the 


only  bird  in  America  that  is  found  no- 
where else  but  California.  The  Lophor- 
fijx  califoniicus  vaUicola,  a  species  of  the 
same  genus  ninges  from  the  Oregon  line 
along  the  foothills  of  the  Sierras  to  their 
southern  extremity  in  Kern  County. 
There  they  are  replaced  by  another  spe- 
cies, Lophortijx  r/ainbeli,  which  is  found 
also  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Sierra  as 
far  north  as  Mono  County,  California. 
From  here  it  spreads  eastward  into  the 
desert  country  of  southern  Nevada  and 
eastern  Utah  and  thence  through  north- 
ern Arizona  and  New  ^lexico.  So  you  see 
this  species  is  also  found  in  four  other 
states.  The  VaUicola.  beginning  about  the 
latitude  of  Monterey  County,  spreads 
across  the  state  to  the  coast,  south  to 
the  Colorado  desert  and  down  the  penin- 
sula of  Lower  California  to  Caiie  San 
Lucas.  So  it,  too,  is  not  a  true  Califor- 
nian  but  enters  a  foreign  country.  While 
the  bird  you  have  selected  is  found  no- 
where else  on  earth  but  in  the  foothills 
and  valleys  of  the  western  side  of  the 
Coast  Range  from  about  the  latitude  of 
Monterey  north  to  the  Oi'^gon  lino. 
Therefore  the  Lophortijx  californicus  is  a 
real  native  son,  so  proud  of  his  birthplace 
that  he  has  never  yet  left  the  state  except 
in  captivity.  Therefore,  I  think  I  can 
say  without  fear  of  successful  contradic- 
tion, that  if  this  bird  is  adopted  as  the 
state  bird,  California  will  have  the  dis- 
tinction of  being  the  only  state  in  tlic 
Union  to  adopt  a  bird  that  can  not  bf- 
found  outside  of  its  geographical  bound- 
aries." 

ESTABLISHIVIENT    OF    QUAIL 
REFUGES  URGED 

It  has  been  demonstrated  that  tlie  ter- 
ritory for  several  miles  surrounding  small 
inviolate  quail  sanctuaries  or  refuges  will 
become  stocked  each  year  provided  that 
water  and  food  for  the  birds  has  been 
developed  and  the  law  enforced. 

The  solution  of  the  problem  of  how  to 
restock  the  game  fields  of  the  state  with 
valley  quail  may  lie  in  the  establishment 
of  small  quail  sanctuaries  on  every  farm 
— large  or  small — in  every  county  inhab- 
ited by  valley  quail  within  the  state, 
where  all  hunting  and  sliooting  at  any 
time  of  year  be  absolutely  prohibited. 

It  is  believed  that  by  the  establisliment 
of  numerous  small  quail  sanctuaries  as 
outlined  many  acres  of  suitable  (piail 
habitat  within  the  state  can  be  restocked 
with  valley  quail  within  thi-ee  years  from 
the  nucleus  of  wild  quail  already  in  the 
field. 

Volunteer  deputies  of  the  Division  of 
Fish  and  Game  have  been  asked  by  Cap- 
tain Walter  Welch  to  take  an-a<?tive  part 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND    GAME 


167 


Pig.  5S.  Rescuing  small  striped  bass  from  irrig-ation  ditch  for  use  in  stocking 
Salton  Sea,  one  of  tlie  outstanding  accomplisliments  of  the  Bureau  of  Fish 
Rescue  and   Reclamation.     Photograph  by  George  Neale. 


in  seeing  to  it  that  at  least  one  quail 
sanctuary  is  established  on  some  farm  in 
his  locality  this  year. 

DEER    DAMAGE    TO     BE     INVESTI- 
GATED 

Constant  rejwrts  from  many  parts  of 
the  state  that  deer  are  causing  damage  to 
the  crops  of  agriculturists  lias  caused  the 
Division  of  Fish  and  Game  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Natural  Resources  to  appoint 
Gordon  True,  a  graduate  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Californi;i,  Department  of  Agri- 
culture, to  prosecvite  an  investigation  of 
ways  and  means  to  pi-otect  the  interests 
of  farmers. 

The  work  of  investigating  conditions 
will  be  carried  on  througliout  the  state. 
The  kind  and  nature  of  tlie  damage  will 
be  studied.  Every  known  device  which 
will  serve  to  keep  deer  out  of  cultivated 
areas  will  be  tried.  A  thorough  test  of 
all  known  repellents  to  wild  animals, 
used  in  this  state  and  in  other  states,  will 
be  made.  Both  those  tiiat  act  as  a  deter- 
rent because  of  odor  and  (liose  effected 
because  of  taste  will  he  tried. 

Mr.  True  will  cooperate  with  landown- 
ers who  are  faced  with  serious  diihculties 
growing  out  of  abundance  of  deer  and 
their  activities  in  relation  io  farm  crops. 
It  is  highly  probable  that  some  landown- 
ers have  already  devised  workalde  scliemes 
to  prevent  damnge  and  repel  the  deer. 

Included  in  this  investigation  v,ill  be 
studies  of  the  diseases  of  deer.     Of  par- 


ticular importance  will  be  the  studies  ol 
the  parasites  of  deer  in  order  to  determine 
what  relationship,  if  any,  exists  between 
deer  parasites  and  those  of  domestic  ani- 
mals. Lung  worm  is  a  dangerous  disease 
of  sheep  and  of  deer  as  well,  but  whether 
the  same  parasite  is  concerned  has  not 
been  determined.  In  this  research  work, 
Mr.  True  will  work  under  tlie  direction 
of  Professor  William  B.  Hernis  and  will 
use  the  laboratories  of  the  Parasitology 
Department  of  the  University  of  Cali- 
fornia at  Berkeley. 

DUCKS    IN    SAN    DIEGO    COUNTY 

San  Diego  County  has  greatly  increased 
water  areas  by  the  building  of  large  im- 
pounding dams  in  various  mountain  can- 
yons. As  a  result,  tliere  have  l>oen  arti- 
ficially formed  attractive  loafing  places 
for  waterfowl.  With  the  construction  of 
these  lakes  has  come  added  sport  in 
waterfowl  shooting.  For  a  number  of 
years  the  supervi.sor  of  the  San  Diego 
Water  Impounding  System  has  reciuire<l 
a  census  of  the  birds  killed. 

The  census  for  the  i)ast  season  pub- 
lished in  the  San  Diego  Inion,  February 
IG.  1930.  indicates  that  the  total  killed 
for  the  open  season  lSt2S— 29  was  53,}H)<> 
ducks  and  714tJ  mudhens.  During  the 
open  season  of  this  year,  the  total  amount- 
ed to  41,7G5  ducks,  10,353  mudhens  and 
11  geese.  These  totals  represent  only  the 
birds  actually  counted  and  are  not  com- 
plete  as  .lome   hunters   who   do   not    hire 


168 


CALIFORNIA    PISH    AND    GAME 


Ixiats  siiccft'd  ill  IciiviiiK  without  filling 
ill  tlie  blanks. 

Ducks  in  ortler  of  their  iihuiidanct' 
were  ruddy.  23.1.35 ;  cnnvasback.  r)ri20 ; 
bluebills.  ."lits; ;  pintail.  3822  and  wid- 
geon, 1430.  The  golden-eye  duck,  the 
gadwall  and  the  cinnamon  teal  each  num- 
ber le.ss  than  20  for  the  season. 

A  tabulation  of  the  number  of  hunters 
whose  kill  was  checked  shows  10. (►82  for 
the  season  1028-29.  and  8410  for  the  sea- 
son 1920-30. 

The  smaller  take  for  the  past  oi>en 
season  is  partly  explained  by  a  15-bird 
duck  limit  imposed  by  a  <*ity  ordinance, 
and  limitation  of  shooting  to  three  days 
per  week. 

THE    LIMIT   OF   TRUE    SPORT 

Theodore  Hoover,  brother  of  the  presi- 
dent, a  professor  at  Stanford  T'niversity. 
is  a  thoughtful  sportsman  as  is  evidenced 
by  the  following  ipiotations  from  an 
article  detailing  some  objectives  of  a 
sound  conservation  ix)licy  which  appeared 
in  Associated  Sportsinen  for  January. 
19.30.  Mr.  Hoover  sets  a  limit  '"as  above 
which  will  be  true  sport." 

"The  present  situation  represents  the 
efforts  at  conservation  of  the  state  and 
the  sportsmen  over  some  twenty  or  thirty 
years.  Hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars 
have  been  spent  yearly  in  hatching,  dis- 
tribution and  other  measures,  and  it  is  a 
wise  thing  for  us  at  the  present  juncture 
to  examine  critically  and  calmly  just  what 
this  very  large  expenditure  of  time,  labor 
and  money  has  produced.      *      *      * 

"Now  what  can  one  propose  as  a  decent 
objective  in  the  line  of  a  day's  sport  as 
distinguished  from  child's  play?  I  have 
given  this  considerable  thought  and  have 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  for  myself  the 
absolute  limit  where  I  would  draw  the 
line  between  sport  and  child's  play  would 
be  at  a  minimum  of  ten  10-inch  fish  or 
fifteen  8-inch  flsh. 

"Others  might  be  content  with  less  and 
still  consider  it  sport,  and  perhaps  under 
all  the  circumstances  if  we  say  the  prac- 
tical objective  of  any  sound  conservation 
policy  should  be  a  minimum  of  fifteen 
6-inch  fish  we  will  be  setting  h  limit  which 
can  be  obtained  without  straining  the  pos- 
sibilities. I  have  fished  in  South  Africa, 
New  Zealand,  Norway,  Finland  and  Eng- 
land, in  all  of  which  countries  our  steel- 
head  rainbow  (Salnio  iridrus)  and  our 
closely  related  inland  variet.v  of  rainbow 
(Salnio  Shasta)  have  been  introduced. 
There  the  practical  result  of  conservation 
is  much  higher  than  any  ideal  here  sug- 
gested. You  can  have  a  better  day's  sport 
within  fifty  miles  of  New  York  City  than 
you  can  find  within  200  miles  of  San 
Francisco.  Therefore  it  does  not  seem  to 
me  an  impractical  dream  to  set  a  limit  as 
above  which  will  be  true  sport. 

"California  advertises  itself  as  the  land 
of  the  great  out-of-doors.  We  Invite  the 
world  to  come  here  and  enjoy  our  climate, 
our  parks  and  our  sport.  Our  climate  is 
as  good  as  it  was  in  the  beginning;  our 
parks  are  improving  as  the  years  go  by  ; 
but  our  sport  is  in  a  steady  decline,  and 
we  should  either  take  what  measures  we 
can  to  bring  it  back  to  a  decent  standard 


or  cease  to  advertise  it ;  moreover,  our 
difficulties  are  sure  to  increase  as  the 
years  go  by,  for  we  contemplate  ten  mil- 
lion people  living  in  California  within 
twenty  years,  besides  the  visitors. 

"Any  real  effort  to  bring  our  trout  fish- 
ing back  to  an  acceptable  standard  is  not 
a  task  of  small  size.  It  will  take  all  the 
resources  at  our  command.  It  will  require 
a  lot  more  money  than  we  now  put  into 
conservation  and  sooner  or  later  we  must 
come  to  a  realization  of  that  fact  if  w^e 
are  to  have  any  angling  worthy  the  name 
in  the  future. 

"In  order  to  have  good  sport  we  must 
place  our  fish  and  game  con.^-ervation 
polic\-  on  a  thoroughly  ration;Uized  basis 
where  the  first  item  in  our  program  is  a 
sound  plan  of  scientific  research.  We  are 
simply  deceiving  ourselves  if  we  imagine 
we  can  carry  on  this  highly  technical  con- 
servation function  wth  "rule  of  thumb" 
methods  based  on  theories  built  up  on  the 
imaginings  of  us  sportsmen  and  even  less 
capable  observers.  The  sportsman  is  a 
keen  observer,  but  he  is  not  accurate  and 
he  generalizes  from  too  few  observations, 
riip  only  evidence  needed  of  his  inaccu- 
racy is  the  well-known  fact  that  if  there 
are  live  fishermen  in  a  room  discussing 
the  habits  of  the  trout  we  will  have  at 
least  two  fights  and  maybe  three  going 
on  at  once  within  half  an  hour  after  dis- 
cussion begins." 

WINTER    FEEDING    OF    GAME    BEGUN 

Heavy  snows  throughout  many  sections 
of  California  during  January  caused  the 
Division  f)f  Fish  and  Game  to  issue  word 
to  all  sportsmen  of  the  state  to  report  at 
once  any  cases  of  failure  of  food  supply 
for  game  birds  and  animals  to  the  near- 
est deputy  fish  ;ind  game  commissioner. 

In  many  i>laces  deer,  quail  or  other 
game  birds  or  animals  faced  starvation 
because  the  available  food  supply  was 
covered  with  snow.  In  Modoc  County 
many  birds  were  found  dead.  Conse- 
quently man  jiowcr  and  finances  were  im- 
mediately made  available  for  the  purpose 
of  taking  care  of  the  situation.  Several 
hundred  dollars  were  spent  for  food,  and 
wardens  and  others  helped  in  spreading 
feed. 

Not  since  the  severe  storms  and  heavy 
snowfall  of  1915  has  any  very  general 
demand  been  made  upon  the  Division  of 
Fish  and  Game  for  the  care  of  game 
birds  and  animals.  During  that  season  it 
became  necessary  to  provide  hay  for  deer 
in  many  i>arts  of  their  range,  where  nat- 
ural feed  was  covered  by  the  snow's.  At 
lower  elevations,  where  the  snow  was  not 
so  deep,  but  too  deep  for  the  quail  to  be 
able  to  forage  for  themselves,  grain  was 
provided  by  interested  siwrtsmen  and  the 
deputy  fish  and  game  commissioners. 

Captain  E.  H.  Ober  of  Big  Pine  has 
rendered  a  report  concerning  recent 
work  in  connection  with  feeding  quail 
which  faced  starvation  following  a  recent 
heavy  snowfall  in  Owens  Valley ; 

"A  snow^  storm  of  unusual  magnitude 
drifted  into  District  4 J   January   9th   and 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND    GAME 


169 


continued  intermittently  during  the  tliree 
following  days.  Exceedingly  cold  weather 
accompanied  the  snow  as  the  therninme- 
ter  dropped  down  to  zero  throughout  Owens 
Valley  for  several  nights.  The  fall  of 
snow,  however,  through  the  eastern  high 
Sierras  could  be  spoken  of  as  being  son/c- 
what  freaky  as  little  snow  fell  in  the 
higher  mountains  compared  to  the  lower 
valleys.  The  extreme  lower  end  and  the 
middle  sections  of  Owens  Valley  received 
the  heaviest  snowfall,  w'hich  made  it  nec- 
essary to  feed  quail  around  Lone  Pine, 
Big  Pine  and  west  of  Bishop.  This  work 
was  carried  on  for  several  days  and  good 
care  was  furnished  upwards  of  1000  val- 
ley quail.  Our  practice  of  feeding  was  to 
scrape  off  the  ground  clear  of  snow  or  ice 
for  twenty  or  thirty  yards  each  way  near, 
if  possible,  to  willow  or  tree  protection. 
Then  cracked  corn  or  wheat  was  scattered 
twice  a  day.  Deputies  Crocker  and  Tal- 
bot assisted  in  this  work.  In  all  of  our 
efforts  connected  with  patrolling  and  feed- 
ing of  quail,  we  have  never  run  across 
any  of  the  Hungarian  partridges  that 
were  liberated  in  the  valley  last  summer. 
"The  mountain  quail  have  been  brought 
down  to  the  lower  foothills  due  to  the 
snow,  but  have  in  no  way  experienced 
particular  hardships.  Deer  continue  to  be 
more  plentiful  along  the  lower  reaches  of 
the  Sierras  than  for  years  back.  Many 
have  crossed  east  to  the  White  Mountains. 
Ringneck  pheasants  are  plentiful  through- 
out Owens  Valley,  particularly  around 
Bishop  and  Round  Valley.  Our  recent 
snow  storm  has  afforded  us  a  chance  to 
take  stock  of  these  birds  and  it  is  most 
gratifying  to  report  hundreds  of  them 
scattered  throughout  the  valley." 

NEW  SPEED   BOAT 

At  the  special  instance  and  request  of 
the  Fish  and  Game  Goramissionors,  the 
new  speed  boat,  used  in  the  patrol  work 
by  the  volunteer  deputies  of  the  Division 
of  Fish  and  Game,  has  been  named  the 
"Walter  R.  Welch,"  in  appreciation  of 
the  activities  of  that  individual  in  the 
service  of  conservation. 

In  1896  Walter  K.  Welch  afiiliated 
himself  with  the  Fish  and  Game  ("oni mis- 
sion as  a  volunteer  deputy.  •  In  1901  he 
became  a  regular  deputy  for  the  state  or- 
ganization. In  192ri,  when  the  i-eorgani- 
zation  of  the  volunteer  deputies  was 
bronglif  about,  Welcli  was  made  Captain, 
in  charge  of  this  groui).  a  imsition  which 
he  still  occupies. 

HUNTING    LICENSES 

According  to  a  late  compilation  of  the 
number  of  hunting  licen.ses  and  income 
therefrom  for  1927-28.  California  ranks 
fifth  in  number  of  hunting  licenses  and 
fourth  as  to  income.  The  tigures  for  New 
York  and  Indiana  included  angling 
licenses  and  are  therefore  not  considered. 
Penns.vlvania  ranks  first  with  .">17,729 
licenses  bringing  in  an  income  of  .$1,006,- 
ir)9.70;  Michigan  and  Ohio  are  not  far 
apart  in  the  number  of  licenses  sold,  but 
in  income  Michigan  is  more  than  l?l.">0,000 
ahead.     Only   one   other  state   has   more 


than    .S:',()(»,()(K)    income    from    the    sale    of 
hunting  licens<'s  and  that  is  Illinois. 

California's  total  for  1927-2S  was  22S.- 
(!9(>  licenses  bringing  in  a  revenue  of 
.i;404,14r). 

THE    LATEST   BIRD   BANDING 
EXPERIMENT 

On  February  10  and  17,  19:i0,  a  liber- 
ation of  sixty-seven  pintail  ducks  from 
Louisiana  was  made  on  Winter's  Island, 
a  well  e(iuii)i>ed  duck  club  on  the  Suisuii 
Marsh.  The  object  of  this  lil>eration  of 
banded  birds  is  to  determine  whether 
they  will  find  their  way  back  to  the  east 
coast  in  subsecjuent  migrations  or  whether 
they  will  stay  on  the  west  coast  and  be 
shot  later  by  local  shooters. 

The  members  of  the  Winter's  Club  co- 
operated with  the  United  States  Bureau  of 
Biological  Survey  and  George  Tonkin,  fed- 
eral game  warden  for  the  district  of  Cali- 
fornia in  liberating  these  banded  birds 
from  the  gulf  coast.  The  ducks  were 
taken  on  the  Mcllhenny  refuge  at  Avery 
Island,  Louisiana.  Records  have  already 
shown  that  western  ducks  occasionally 
spend  the  winter  on  the  gulf  coast. 

HERE'S   THE    PROPER    TERM    TO 
APPLY 

It  is  common  these  days  to  hear  a  man 
talking  about  bunches  or  coveys  of  ducks, 
geese  or  other  wild  fowl.  As  this  is  en- 
tirely wrong,  it  is  worth  while  to  recall 
the  correct  names  of  different  gatherings 
of  birds : 

A  bank  of  swans.        A  fleet  of  coots 
A  bunch  of  widgeon.       (mudhens). 
A  brood  of  grouse.      A   flight  of  plover. 
A  bevy  of  quail.  A  gaggle  of  geese. 

A  band  of  jays.  A  paddling  of  mal- 

A  coil  or  spring  of  lard. 

teal.  A  rafter   of  turkeys. 

A  covey  of  partridge.  A  sedge  of  herons. 
A  crowd  of  red-  A  tribe  of  sparrows. 

wings.  A  whisp  of  snipe. 

A  fall  of  wood- 
cock. 

— William   \V.    Richards,   Pa':ific  Sporl^- 
wian.  Vol.  VIII,  no.  3,  May,  1929. 

MUSSEL     AND     CLAM     QUARANTINES 
LIFTED 

Because  of  the  appearance  of  a  large 
numlier  of  cases  of  poisoning  caused  by 
eating  mussels  gathered  along  the  (Cali- 
fornia coast,  quarantine  was  establishe<l 
on  .luly  22,  1929,  under  which  the  sale  or 
offering  for  sale  of  all  mussels  gathered 
on  the  California  coast  from  Monterey 
County  to  Del  Norte  County,  inclu.sive, 
was  prohibited.  Because  of  the  appear- 
ance of  ca.ses  of  poisoning  due  to  eating 
clams  gathere<l  in  San  Mateo,  Sonoma 
and  Marin  counties,  similar  prohibitions 
were  place<l  August  6th  and  9th  upon  the 
territory  covered  by  those  three  counties. 


170 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND    GAME 


On  Nuvi'iubtT  I'd  all  of  lliose  iiuaraatiues 
were  tenninatcd  because  examinations  of 
clams  and  nnissols  gatluM-od  in  tlie  <|iiar- 
antinod  area  showed  tliat  their  toxic  con- 
dition had  disappeared  or  had  become 
so  low  that  it  was  harndess  to  human 
beings. 

A  total  of  fifty-five  cases  of  poisoning 
due  to  eating  mussels  occurred  during  the 
past  summer  season.  Only  one  of  these 
cases  was  fatal.  8ix  cases  of  poisoning 
due  to  eating  clams  occurred  during  the 
same  period,  three  of  which  cases  were 
fatal.  It  would  appear  that  these  shell- 
fish become  toxic  each  year,  particularly 
during  tiie  summer  months.  This  fact 
will  jiiobably  make  necessary  the  annual 
issuance  of  yuarantine  orders  on  both 
clams  and  mussels  gathered  along  certain 
sections  of  the  coast  line  of  California. 
These  shellfish  become  less  toxic  after  the 
summer  season  has  passed,  and  it  is  be- 
lieved that  they  are  absolutely  harmless 
to  human  beings,  generally,  during  the 
period  November  1st  to  ^March  1st. — 
Weeklji  Bulletin,  California  Department 
of  Public  Health,  December  7,  1929. 

COOPERATION  IN  LAW  ENFORCE- 
MENT 
A  number  of  counties  of  the  state  hire 
game  wardens  whose  duty  it  is  to  help 
enforce  the  state  laws  protecting  fish  and 
game.  The  most  notable  cooperation  of 
this  kind  comes  from  IjOs  Angeles  County 
where  a  county  forester  an<l  tiro  warden 
and  a  large  group  of  deputies  aid  greatly 
in  enforcing  state  game  laws.  A  recent 
compilation  shows  a  marked  increase  in 
numbers  of  cases  made  by  Los  Angeles 
County  game  wardens.  Though  in  the 
year  1020  but  a  single  arrest  was  made 
with  a  resultant  fine  of  .$15,  the  total  for 
1929  showed  9(t  arrests,  82  convictions 
and  .'i?2,770  in  fines  actually  paid.  The 
total  nundicr  of  arrests  for  the  period 
amounts  to  1193.  The  illegal  ix>ssession 
of  abalones  caused  the  arrest  of  3(J4  men, 
whereas  hunting  without  a  license  got  108 
men  into  trouble. 

Fines  and  Arrests  Made  by  Los  Angeles 
County  January  1,  1920,  to  January  1, 
1929. 

Calendar  year  1920— 

Arrests    1 

Fines  paid $15   00 

Calendar  year  1921 — 

Arrests    —   25 

Convictions 23 

Fines   paid $295   00 

Pines   suspended 1,525   00 

Jail  sentences  served none 

Jail  sentences  suspended-  10  days 

Calendar  year  1922 — 

Arrests    191 

Convictions 187 

Pines  paid $3,082   50 

Pines  suspended 425   00 

-Jail  sentences  served 33  days 

Jail  Sentences  suspended 610  days 


Calendar  year   1923 — 

Arrests 1 

Convictions 1 

Pines  paid  

Pines  suspended 

.Tail  sentences  served 

Jail  sentences  suspended-- 
Calendar  year  1924 — 

Arrests 2 

Convictions 1 

Pines  paid  

Fines  suspended 

Jail  sentences  served 

Jail  sentences  suspended 

Calendar  year  1925 — 

Arrests 

Convictions 

Pines  paid  

Pines  suspended _- 

Jail  sentences  served 

Jail  sentences  suspended 

Calendar  year  1926 — 

Arrests 

Convictions 

Pines  paid  

Fines  suspended  __ — 

Jail  sentences  served 

Jail  sentences  suspended 

Calendar  year  1927 — 

Arrests    2 

Convictions 1 

Fines    paid 

Fines   suspended 

Jail  sentences  served 

Jail   sentences  suspended- 
Calendar  year  1928 — 

Arrests — — 1 

Convictions 1 

Fines   paid   

Fines  suspended 

.Tail  sentences  served 

Jail  sentences  suspended- 
Calendar  year  1929 — 

Arrests    

Convictions 

Pines   paid   

Pines    suspended 

.Tail   sentences  served 

Jail   sentences  suspended- 
Totals,    calendar   years    1920 
elusive — 

Arrests 1,1 

Convictions    1,1 

Fines  paid 

Pines  suspended  

Jail  sentences  served 

.Tail  sentences  suspended- 


93 

78 


1 

19 
94 


$8,010  00 

505  00 

150  days 

,850  days 


$5,300  00 
800  00 
none 
,173  days 


1.17 


88 

77 


1 


$6,185  00 

745  00 

210  days 

,125  day.s 


73 
66 


$1,780  00 
790  00 
5  days 

lOr.  days 


06 

93 


$4,487  50 

4,195  50 

5  days 

142  days 


07 
02 


9(1 


to 

93 
03 


$6,522  00 

1,505  00 

240  days 

none 


$2,770  00 

1,465  00 

37  days 

487  days 

1929,  in- 


fS8,447  00 
11,955  50 
680  days 

i,502  days 


List   of    Fish   and   Game   Cases   January  1, 
1920,  to  January  1,  1929 

Hunting  without    license 108 

Fishing  without  license 32 

Hunting  without  deer  tags 5 

Hunting   at    night 23 

Shooting  from   power  boat 2 

I-'ireariiis   in   game  refuge 53 

Shooting  game  from  auto 14 

Trespass   posted   property 35 

Illegal    deer   hides 8 

Illegal  deer  meat 61 

Killing  spike  buck 24 

Ivilling  doe IS 

Killing  fawn -- 10 

Failure  to  retain  deer  head  and  hide_  4 

Tvilling  deer  in  game  refuge 2 

ICilling  deer  out  of  season 28 

Failure  to  tag  deer 1 

Running  deer  with  dogs —  2 

Killing  tree  squirrels 3 

Killing  nongame  birds 35 

Killing  wild  pigeons 6 

I-Cilling  cottontail  rabbits 2 

Killing  waterfowl  on  illegal  day 1 

Undersize  crabs 1 

Undersize   Pismo  clams 11 

Overlimit    Pismo    clams 17 


CALIFORNIA   FISH   AND   GAME 


171 


Overllmlt  trout 21 

Selling  trout 1 

Out  of  season   trout 2 

Illegal   black  bass 10 

Overlimit  black  bass 1 

Out  of  season  black  bass — 3 

Catch  black  bass  with  net 9 

Illegal  lobsters 46 

Out  of  season  lobsters 4 

Illegal  abalones 364 

Overlimit   abalones --  65 

Using  abalones   for  bait 21 

Spearing  abalones 2 

Selling  corbina 1 

Selling  spotfm  croaker 1 

Illegal  pheasants 1 

Out  of  season  doves 19 

Overlimit  doves 12 

Out  of  season  ducks 33 

Overlimit  of  ducks 1 

Out   of  season  quail 41 

Selling  quail 2 

Trapping  quail 3 

Purse  seining 23 

Operating  boat  without  license 1 

Total 1193 

IMPORTATIONS  OF  GAME   BIRDS 

Much  interest  has  been  displayed  dur- 
ing the  past  two  or  three  years  in   the 
importation     of     Hungarian     partridges. 
Since   this  species  has  been  successfully 
established    in    several    western     states, 
others    have    sought    to    obtain    breeding 
stock  to  build  up  their  game  resources. 
New  York  has  been  particularly  active  in 
this  respect,  and  during  the  year  has  re- 
ceived several  large  shipments.     The  sup- 
ply   of    birds    is    obtained    chiefly    from 
Czechoslovakia    and    Hungary,    and    the 
demand  has  been  so  great  as  to  cause  ap- 
prehension   as  to    the   source   of   supply. 
Early  in  the  year  shipments  from  Czecho- 
slovakia  were  suspended  for  a   time  be- 
cause of  the  disastrous  effect  of  the  cold 
winter  on  the  stock  of  native  birds.     In 
addition   to  exporting  00,000   to   100,000 
dead  partridges  annually.  Czechoslovakia 
exports  a  large  part  of  the  live  birds  en- 
tered in  the  United  States,  England  and 
Switzerland.      Many    of    these    birds   are 
bred  solely  for  the  export  trade,  and  the 
prices  vary  from  $1.75  to  .$2.9-4  each,  to 
which  is  added  a  25  per  cent  ad  valorem 
export  fee.     Several  shipments  of  pheas- 
ants were  imported  from  Europe,  chiefly 
to  introduce  new  blood  into  the  stock  in 
the  United  States.     A  limited  number  of 
grouse,    chiefly    ruffed    and    sharp-tailed 
grouse,    were   entered   from    .Mhorta,  and 
nearly  500  diminutive  button  quail    (PJx- 
calfactoria  lineata)   from  the  Philippines 
and  Australia,  and  40  tinamous  (Nothura 
maculosa)  from  southern  South  America. 
— Report  of  the  Chief  of  the  Bureau  of 
Biological  Survey,  August  30,  1020. 

EXPERIMENTS    ON    INCREASING 

BIRDS   ON    THE   FARM 
The  experiments  in  attracting  birds  to 
the    experimental    chestnut    orchard    at 
5—74383 


Bell,   Maryland,   being  carried  on   in   co- 
operation with   the  Bureau  of  Plant  In- 
dustry,   continue    to    yield    good    results 
from    year    to    year.      In    47    bird    boxes 
erected  on  a  tract  of  2i  acres  there  were 
produced  during  the  season   of  192G,  17 
|)artial  or   complete   broods   to    the   acre. 
In    1027,   with   the  same   equipment,   the 
number  of  broods  rose  to  40,  an  average 
nt  IG  to  the  acre.     In  1928,  52  additional 
hird  houses  were  erected,  making  a  total 
of   99,    scattered   over  3i   acres,   and   65 
broods  were  produced,  an  average  of  18. .5 
to  the  acre.     The  kinds  of  birds  and  the 
number  of  broods  of  each   in  1928  were 
as    follows :    house   wren,    33 ;    European 
starling,   9;    English   sparrow,   8;    purple 
martin,    7;    bluebird,    6;    flicker,    1;    and 
crested    flycatcher,    1.      This    cooperation 
with    the    Bureau    of    Plant    Industry    is 
enabling    the    bureau    to    experiment    in 
bird-attraction    methods    and    is    yielding 
valuable  information  in  that  field,  as  well 
as    fulfilling    the    primary    object    of    the 
studies — from     the     point     of     view     of 
orchard  management — namely  :  to  increase 
the  number  of  insectivorous  birds  in  the 
locality. — Report    of    the    Chief    of    the 
Bureau   of    Biological    Survey,    Aug.    30, 
1929. 

ECONOMIC  VALUE  OF  PREDATORY 
ANIMALS  AND  BIRDS  TO  BE 
STUDIED    AT    STATE     UNIVERSITY. 

Decision  has  been  made  by  the  Bureau 
of  P^ducation  and  Research  of  the  Divi- 
sion of  Fish  and  Game  to  prosecute  an 
investigation  into  the  food  habits  and 
economic  relations  of  those  birds  and 
animals  considered  destructive  to  game  in 
order  that  one  resource  may  not  be  saved 
at  the  expense  of  another.  The  science 
laboratories  and  other  facilities  of  the 
University  of  California  will  aid  in  the 
investigation  planned. 

It  is  the  duty  of  the  Fish  and  Game 
Connnission  adequately  to  care  for  the 
lish  and  game  resources  of  the  state.  One 
of  the  first  resources  that  was  utilized 
was  that  of  the  fur-bearing  animal. 
Search  for  suitable  trapping  grounds  first 
brought  the  white  man  to  the  western 
state.  However,  as  a  resource,  the  fur- 
bearing  animal  has  dwindled.  Numerous 
adverse  factors  are  concerned.  Among 
them  is  the  cultivation  of  land  and  the 
ever  present  demand  of  the  cattleman  and 
sheepman  to  control  predatory  species. 
Organized  groups  of  sportsmen  join  in 
asking  for  campaigns  of  destruction. 
There  is  opposition  to  a  program  of  pro- 
tection. In  contrast  to  this  viewpoint  is 
that  of  many  a  scientist  who  maintains 
that    the    predatory    animal    has    a    real 


place  in  nature  and   that  its  destruction 


172 


CALIFORNIA    PISH    AND    GAME 


endangers  the  success  of  other  animals  in 
the  forest.  Stomach  examination  of 
black-listed  forms  has  shown  them  to  be 
valuable  as  rodent  destroyers  and  prac- 
tically innucuous  to  game  birds.  Addi- 
tional research  is  needed  b«'fore  these  ani- 
mals can  be  evaluated. 

When  an  attempt  is  made  actually  to 
line  up  facts  to  support  either  of  the 
above  contentions,  they  are  hard  to  find. 
Tliere  is  much  loose  talk  on  both  sides  of 
the  controversy.  Scientific  and  economic 
values  are  not  as  yet  well  known.  As  a 
consequence,  the  Division  of  Fish  and 
Game  is  planning  research  to  gather  facts 
helpful  in  deciding  whether  the  depreda- 
tions of  predatory  animals  warrant  cam- 
paigns of  destruction  or  control  by  letting 
the  trapper  harvest  an  annual  crop.  Like- 
wise more  information  will  be  gathered 
on  the  relation  of  hawks  to  game  birds. 

Arrangements  liave  been  completed 
with  the  University  of  California  to  direct 
an  investigation  to  determine  important 
facts  relative  to  predatory  animals.  E. 
L.  Sumner,  Jr.,  has  been  employed  as  a 
Kesearch  Fellow  to  i)rosecute  the  investi- 
gation. He  will  work  under  the  direction 
of  Dr.  Joseph  Grinnell,  director  of  the 
.Museum  of  Vertebrate  Zoology. 

The  study  will  include : 

(a)  Detailed  first-hand  investigation  of 
life  histories  of  various  species  -with 
special  reference  to  their  methods  of  feed- 
ing. 

(b)  Intensive  study  of  a  particular 
species,  which  will  be  emphasized  above 
others  in  order  to  direct  and  conserve 
time  ami  energy  efficiently.  This  inten- 
sive study  to  be  supplemented  and  en- 
hirge<l  upon  by  findings  relative  to  other 
species. 

Of  prime  importance  will  be  a  study  of 
the  interrelations  of  these  animals  to 
other  species.  Such  interrelations  will  be 
determined  by  making  studies  .  of  the 
methods  by  which  these  animals  secure 
their  food;  by  taking  censuses  on  a  given 
area  showing  ratio  of  number  of  indi- 
viduals to  number  of  animals  upon  which 
they  prey;  by  study  of  seasonal  changes 
in  food  habits  as  dictated  by  changes  in 
food  supply  ;  by  study  of  conditions  re- 
sulting in  regions  where  these  animals 
have  been  greatly  reduced  in  numbers ; 
and  by  estimates  of  normal  food  consump- 
tion of  species  studied. 

The  attempt  will  be  made  to  gather 
dependable  data  that  will  prove  or  dis- 
prove the  truth  of  the  statement  made 
by  some  zoologists  that  "predatorj-"  ani- 
mals play  an  important  part  in  preserving 
the  balance  in  nature  and  that  their  ex- 


termination produces  results  harmful 
rather  than  beneficial  to  the  species  upon 
which  they  prey. 

If  this  can  lx>  done,  one  of  the  most 
mooted  questions  connected  with  game 
conservation  will  I)e  solved. 

WESTERN    FISH     SURVEY     PROPOSED 

At  a  meeting  of  the  game  officials  of 
Wyoming,  ^lontaim,  Utah,  and  Idaho 
at  Yellowstone  National  I'ark  on  July 
17  and  IS,  it  was  proposed  that  congress 
make  provision  by  appropriation  for  a 
survey  of  the  streams  of  the  Rocky 
Mountain  region  of  the  United  States  to 
determine  what  varieties  of  fish  are  suit- 
able for  each  stream  and  what  is  needed 
to  be  done  to  provide  an  adetiuate  food 
supply  in  each.  Congress  will  undoubt- 
edly be  asked  at  the  coming  session  to 
make  such  an  appropriation. 

Participating  in  the  conference  were 
representatives  of  the  National  Park  Ser- 
vice, the  U.  S.  Forest  Service,  the  U.  S. 
Biological  Survey  and  the  U.  S.  Bureau 
of  Fisheries. — American  Protective  Asso- 
ciation News  Service. 

NON-PROOF  FENCES  FOR  DEER 

Barbed  wire,  the  mark  of  the  home- 
steader on  the  frontiers  of  the  old  West, 
marked  the  beginning  of  the  end  for  the 
great  herds  of  buffalo.  Wire  fences  still 
present  a  problem  in  game  management 
in  California. 

Through  the  cooperation  of  the  Divi- 
sion of  Fish  and  Game  of  the  Department 
of  Natural  Resources  and  the  Southern 
Pacific  Company  the  latter  organization 
is  experiment iug  with  a  plan  to  prevent 
deer,  during  their  migrations  across  Mo- 
doc County,  where  a  new  railroad  right- 
of-way  has  been  opened  up,  from  becom- 
ing entangled  in  the  mesh  of  a  fcnee 
along  the  right-of-way. 

A  strip  of  country  some  ci,?ht  mih-s  iu 
length,  between  Ambrose  and  Boles,  has 
been  the  subject  of  much  complaint,  with 
numerous  cases  being  reported  of  deer 
having  been  killed  or  crippled  by  being 
caught  in  the  wire  fence  along  the  i ail- 
road  right-of-way.  The  solution  of  the 
probliMu,  according  to  the  consensus  of 
opinion,  is  the  placing  of  a  board  along 
the  top  wire  of  the  fence,  thereby  mark- 
ing the  obstacle  so  that  it  can  be  seen  by 
the  migrating  animals. 

If  the  plan  jn-oves  successful,  the 
Southern  Pacific  Company  has  indicated 
that  the  practice  will  be  extended  ro  the 
fences  of  the  company  for  the  entire  dis- 
tance where  injuuy  to  animals  has  been 
reported. 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND    GAME 


173 


REGULATIONS  UNDER  WHICH  COM- 
MERCIAL DUCK  CLUBS  MAY  BE 
OPERATED. 

General   Order   No.  9 

Regulation  No.  1 

Shooting  days  limited  to  three  day.s  a 

week:  Sunday,  Wednesday  and  Saturday. 
Additional  operating  days,  tlie  o|»(MiiriK 
and  closing  of  tiie  season  and  all  legal 
iiolidays, 

Ileguluatiou  No.  2 

A  blind  must  be  within  shooting  dis- 
tance of  water.  Blinds  must  be  a  reason- 
able distance  apart,  to  depend  upon  local 
conditions. 

Regulation  No.  3 

Each  shooter  must  be  given  a  satisfac- 
tory blind.  No  shooters  to  be  allowed  to 
hunt  at  large  when  blinds  are  full. 

Regulation  No.  4 

Must  cooperate  with  the  Fish  and  (Jame 
Commission  in  law  enforcement. 

Regulation  No.  5 

Where  clubs  adjoin,  no  blinds  ti-  be 
located  within  70  yards  di  adicdning 
boundary,  excei)t  under  mutual  agree- 
ment. 


Regulation  Xo.  6 

The  continual  shooting  at  birds  out  of 

I'ange  will  i)e  regarded  as  a  nuisance  acd 
the  clul)  may  at  its  discretion,  refund  the 
money  paid  for  shooting  privilege  and 
bar  shooter  from  further  hunting. 

Regulation  Xo.  7 

I'nder  no  consideration  is  a  club  tu 
guarantee  limit. 

The  foregoing  order  is  hereby  approved 
and  ordered  tiled  as  "(ieneral  Urder  Xo.  U, 
Division  of  Fisli  and  (iaine,  of  the  De- 
partment of  Xatural  Resources  of  the 
State  of  California." 

Dated :  This  30th  day  of  September, 
1927. 

i.  zelleri5ac1i. 
Rkginald  Fek.n.vi.i), 
Ceo.  B.  Clakksox, 
Fish  and  Game  Commission. 

VALLEY    QUAIL    HUNTERS   FIND 
BIRDS   SCARCE 

The  1929  season  on  valley  quail  closed 
on  December  31.  Unfavorable  reports 
were  received  from  many  parts  of  the 
state.  Birds  were  rei)ort('d  as  scarce  and 
few  limits  were  secured.  The  scarcity  of 
birds  last  year  came  after  sever.-il  suc- 
cessful seasons  which  seemed  'o  indicate 
that  the  shorter  open  season  in  the  middle 


Fig.  59.     Up  and  over.     A  steelhead  trout  jumping  the  fishway  at  Snow  Mountain 
Dam  on  the  South  Eel  River.     Photograpli  by  E.  S.  Clieney,  February,  1930. 


174 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND    GAME 


of  the  wiuter  with  the  aid  of  several  suc- 
cessful breeding  seasons  had  really 
brought  this  favorite  game  bird  back  to 
satisfactory  numbers.  The  usual  reason 
given  for  the  poor  season  last  December 
was  "drought  conditions."  Few  birds  are 
more  subject  to  marked  lluctuations  in 
numbers  than  are  the  upland  ijame  birds. 
A  few  successful  breeding  seasons  in- 
crease numbers  to  a  maximum,  whereas 
an  unfavorable  season  reduces  birds  to  a 
minimum.  It  has  often  been  reported 
that  in  dry  seasons,  flocks  of  quail  do  not 
separate  out  into  pairs,  but  remain  in 
flocks  throughout  the  breeding  season. 
Though  there  were  not  many  reports  of 
this  kind  last  summer,  the  scarcity  of 
quail  this  past  winter  certainly  indicates 
a  poor  breeding  season  last  spring. 

THE    CHUKOR    PARTRIDGE 

"Within  the  past  few  years  a  number  of 
Chukor  partridges  have  been  imported 
and  various  game  farmers  are  now  propa- 
gating them.  Experiments  with  this  bird 
have  received  support  because  of  the 
rather  negative  results  thus  far  secured  in 
this  state  with  the  Hungarian  partridge. 

Unlike  Hungarian  partridges  they  are 
very  easily  mated.  A  male  bird  can  be 
transferred  from  one  female  to  another 
without  any  trouble  and  will  mate  with 
several  in  a  season.  They  will  stand  any 
amount  of  heat  without  discomfort.  That 
was  well  proven  this  summer  during  our 
hottest  spells  when  the  birds  sprawled 
flat  on  the  ground  in  the  hot  sun  and 
seemed  to  enjoy  it  vei-y  much. 

These  birds  came  from  India,  \v'hfre 
they  are  considered  to  be  a  very  tine 
game  bird.  The  flesh  is  light  colored 
throughout.  It  is  not  quite  as  light  as 
our  valley  quail,  but  almost.  In  the 
birds  which  I  handled  there  seemed  to  be 
a  faint  pinkish  tint.  Unlike  the  Mongo- 
lian pheasant  which  seems  to  like  (ulli- 
vated  areas,  this  bird  would  probably 
take  to  cover.  It  is  a  ground  roosting 
bird,  but  it  will  also  roost  on  the  perch. 
Where  there  are  ground  enemies,  it  would 
probably  take  to  the  trees. — W.  E.  Ung- 
lish,  Gilroy,  California. 

VOLUNTEER   DEPUTIES 

In  order  to  avoid  conflict  of  authority 
and  possible  friction,  the  Division  of  Fish 
and  Game  has  found  it  necessary  to  adopt 
a  rule  whereby  it  will  not  appoint  any 
deputy  sheriff,  deputy  constable,  or  the 
keeper  of  a  gun  club  or  shooting  preserve, 
a  deputy  of  the  Division  of  Fish  and 
Game. 

Deputies  of  the  Division  of  Fish  and 
Game  are  vested  with  the  highest  author- 
ity of  any  public  officer  of  the  state,  viz, 


that  of  the  right  to  search  buildings,  other 
than  dwellings,  and  all  receptacles,  other 
than  the  clothing  actually  worn  by  a 
person  at  the  time  of  the  search,  where 
there  is  reasonable  reason  to  believe  that 
fish  or  game  is  illegally  held  or  had  in 
possession.  In  the  exercise  of  this  author- 
ity all  volunteer  deputies  are  advised  to 
use  the  word  "inspect"  instead  of 
"search."  The  volunteer  deputies  are  ad- 
vised not  to  search  any  market  place,  cold 
storage  plant,  hotel,  or  other  building,  or 
ice  box,  except  under  the  direction,  super- 
vision or  approval  of  the  regular  deputy 
or  the  captain  of  the  regular  patrol  of 
the  district. 

The  volunteer  deputies  are  advised  not 
to  make  arrests  for  technical  violations 
of  the  law.  The  deputy  must  be  able  to 
prove  that  the  spirit  and  intent,  as  well 
as  the  letter  of  the  law,  has  been  vio- 
lated before  he  can  expect  to  convict  the 
person  arrested. 

Volunteer  deputies  are  informed  not  to 
accept  any  gi-atuities  or  privileges  from 
the  owners  of  gun  clubs  or  any  other 
person,  and  are  strictly  forbidden  to  use 
their  authority  or  badge  for  the  purpose 
of  securing  any  gratuities  or  privileges. 

Volunteer  deputies  are  appointed  on 
three  months  probation,  and  upon  their 
activities  during  these  three  months  de- 
pends their  future  continuation  as  depu- 
ties. 

All  volunteer  deputies  are  instructed 
that  under  no  circumstances  shall  they 
accept  any  money  for  bail,  or  any  other 
puriK)se,  from  any  person  that  has  been 
arrested  by  them. 

All  volunteer  deputies  are  to  work 
under  the  direction  of  the  regular  patrol 
through  a  captain  and  lieutenant — the 
captain  to  be  elected  by  the  deputies,  and 
the  lieutenant  to  be  appointed  by  the  cap- 
tain. 

All  captains  of  the  volunteer  deputies 
are  elected  to  serve  for  a  term  of  six 
months  from  the  date  of  their  election. 

All  volunteer  deputies  who  receive  iu- 
fonnation  of  a  violation  of  the  fish  or 
game  laws  must  report  such  information 
to  the  regular  deputy,  or  to  the  captain 
of  the  volunteer  deputies,  before  taking 
any  action  on  such  information. 

All  volunteer  deputies  have  the  author- 
ity, and  it  is  their  duty  to  make  imme- 
diate arrest  without  a  warrant,  any  per- 
son who  has  committed  a  violation  of  the 
fish  or  game  laws  in  their  presence  in  any 
part  of  the  state. 

When  a  volunteer  deputy  has  made  an 
arrest  for  a  violation  of  the  fish  or  game 
laws  it  is  his  duty  to  immediately  take 
all  the  evidence  to  the  regular  deputy,  or 
to  the  captain  of  the  volunteer  deputies, 


CALU<'OiiNIA   FISH    AND   GAME 


175 


Fig.  60.     Another  steelhead  climbs  the  fish  ladder  at  the  Snow  Mountain  Dam  on  the 
South  Eel  River.     Photograph  by  E.   S.  Cheney,  February,   1930. 


and  inform  him  of  all  the  circumstances 
surrounding  the  case.  The  regular  dep- 
uty, or  the  captain  of  the  volunteer  depu- 
ties will  then  inform  the  deputy  who 
made  the  arre.st  what  further  action  will 
be  taken  in  the  case  and  supervise  the 
filing  of  the  complaint  against  the  party 
arrested. 

The  captain  of  the  volunteer  deputies 
shall  require  the  deputies  under  his  con- 
trol to  report  to  him  monthly,  giving  an 
account  of  tlieir  activities  in  the  field.  A 
summary  copy  of  these  reports  must  be 
filed  by  the  captain  of  the  volunteer  dep- 
uties with  the  association  or  club  sponsor- 
ing the  appointment  of  the  deputies  under 
his  control.  Said  niontldy  reports  must 
be  filed  by  the  captain,  with  the  captain 
in  charge  of  volunteer  deputies,  510  Russ 
Building,  San  Francisco. 

It  is  the  duty  of  the  captain  of  the 
volunteer  deputies  to  report  all  informa- 
tion coming  to  him  to  the  regular  deputy 
and  not  to  take  any  action  on  sauie 
except  under  the  advice,  direction  and 
approval  of  the  regular  deputy. 

Applications  for  appointment  of  volun- 
teer deputies  must  be  signed  by  the  presi- 
dent and  secretary  of  the  organization 
recommending  their  appointment  au<l  be 
indorsed  by  the  captain  of  patrol  of  the 
district  in  which  the  applicant  resides. 
As  the  secretary  of  state  will  require  a 
fee  of  $5  for  filing  the  bond  of  each  volun- 
teer deputy,  said  fee  of  .^ij  must  accom- 
pany each  application  and  recommenda- 


tion for  the  appointment  of  volunteer 
deputies. 

Each  volunteer  deputy  will  be  paid  a 
salary  of  $5  for  his  first  month's  services, 
to  compensate  him  for  bond  filing  fee. 
Thereafter  his  services  to  be  volunteer 
and  without  compensation. 

All  volunteer  deputies  are  advised  not 
to  enforce  the  provisions  of  section  627 
of  the  Penal  Code,  which  relates  to  tres- 
pass upon  private  property,  or  tlie  provi- 
sions of  any  county  ordinance,  or,  in  fact, 
any  law  except  the  state  fish  and  game 
laws.  The  activities  of  all  volunteer  dep- 
uties must  be  confined  to  the  county  in 
which  they  reside,  except  in  cases  where 
a  violation  of  the  fish  and  game  laws 
has  been  committed  in  their  presence  out- 
side their  respective  counties,  or  when 
they  have  secured  permission  to  perform 
special  duties  outside  their  respective 
counties  from  the  field  assistant  of  the 
Divi-sion  of  Fish  and  Game  or  from  the 
captain  of  patrol  of  tlie  regular  deputies 
of  the  district  in  which  they  reside. 

The  efforts  of  the  volunteer  deputies 
should  be  to  build  up  an  active,  efficient, 
harmonious,  cooperative  body  to  coordi- 
nate with  the  regular  patrol  for  the  en- 
forcement of  the  fish  and  game  laws  and 
to  educate  the  people  as  to  the  value  and 
necessity  of  such  laws.  Therefore,  the 
actions  of  the  wardens  should  at  all  times 
be  such  as  to  reflect  with  credit  upon 
themselves  and  those  responsible  for  their 
appointment. 


176 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND   GAME 


PHEASANT     BANDING     GIVES     VALU- 
ABLE   INFORMATION 

How  far  will  phcasaiits  travel?  Will 
pheasants  travel  long  flistances  when  re- 
leased in  ji«i)(\  pheasant  territoiy,  or  do 
they  travel  long  distances  to  get  into  good 
country? 

Answers  to  these  and  many  other  ((Ues- 
tions  are  being  sought  by  the  deinxi'tnient 
of  game  of  the  Wisconsin  <  "onservation 
(Commission  by  a  comprehensive  bird 
banding  program.  Every  pheasant  sent 
out  from  the  state  game  farm  carries  an 
aluminum  band  upon  its  leg  which  bears 
the  inscription,  "Notify  the  Wisconsin 
Conservation  Commission,"  and  beneath 
this  a  serial  number. 

Every  bird  rai.sed  by  the  game  farm  is 
individually  card  indexed  with  a  com- 
plete history  of  its  development  and  re- 
lease. 

The  conservation  commission  has  been 
obtaining  some  extremely  valuable  infor- 
mation regarding  the  ring-neck  pheasants 
which  were  released  by  the  state  game 
farm  in  its  first  year  of  operation.  In 
the  case  of  pheasants,  even  more  so  than 
with  most  birds,  little  is  known  as  to 
their  range. 

The  latest  return  to  the  Wisconsin 
Conservation  Commission  of  a  band  is 
that  of  a  pheasant  hen  raised  in  1929  at 
the  state  game  farm,  shipped  to  the  Out- 
agamie County  Fish  and  Game  Associa- 
tion, and  released  just  north  of  the  vil- 
lage of  Kaukauna  in  Outagamie  County. 
This  bird  was  found  dead  last  week  in  a 
sand  pit  in  the  heart  of  Appleton.  It 
had  been  decapitated  but  whether  by  a 
predatory  bird  or  by  what  means  is  un- 
known. The  significance  is  that  the  bird 
had  traveled  seven  miles  from  the  point  of 
release  in  less  than  three  months. 

Further  inform.ation  is  needed  on  the 
habits  of  pheasants,  and  anyone  finding  a 
ring-neclv  pheasant  or  any  other  game 
bird  with  a  band  upon  its  leg.  is  asked  to 
get  in  immediate  touch  with  game  offi- 
cials. 

LAWS    NECESSARY 

Man  can  not  live  at  all  in  a  civilized 
state  without  law.  It  is  the  cornerstone 
of  civilization.  Without  it  there  can  be 
no  liberty.  Without  it  there  can  be  no 
protection  of  per.sonal  and  property 
rights.  Without  it  life  itself  becomes  in- 
secure. Without  it  there  can  be  no  en- 
forced conservation,  and  there  can,  under 
existing  conditions,  be  no  general  conser- 
vation unless  it  is  enforced. 

What  then  should  be  the  attitude  of 
those  interested  in  conservation  toward 
government  and  toward  law?  Wouldn't 
it  be  a  good  plan  to  popularize  the  gov- 
ernment  and    the   laAvs   which    we    have 


enacted V  Wouldn't  it  be  well  to  call  to 
mind  once  in  a  while  that  the  laws  which 
we  have  were  not  handed  down  to  us 
ready  made  by  any  governing  king,  prince 
or  iwtentate,  but  that  they  are  our  laws, 
enjicted  and  kept  in  effect  by  us  and  our 
repre.sentatives?  Wouldn't  it  be  well  to 
cease  to  regard  the  law,  as  some  now 
regard  it,  simply  as  something  which  cur- 
tails our  liberties,  something  to  be  avoided 
if  not  evaded,  and  to  regard  it  as  the 
protector  of  our  liberties,  the  preserver 
of  our  peace  and  happiness,  the  founda- 
tion of  our  prosperity? 

When  the  American  loeople  cease  to 
wink  at  lawlessness,  when  the  average 
citizen  fully  appreciates  his  duties  as 
such,  and  decides  to  take  his  proper  part 
in  the  important  business  of  government, 
the  laws  will  be  enforced  and  crime  will 
decrease,  and  with  a  growing  respect  for 
all  law  there  will  inevitably  come  a 
greater  respect  for  laws  relating  to  con- 
servation.— Outdoor  America,  Februarv, 
1930,  p.  37. 

VOLUNTEER   PRESS  AGENTS 

Emphasis  needs  to  be  continually 
placed  on  the  importance  of  molding 
public  opinion  in  favor  of  conservation. 
Because  the  press  is  foremost  and  all- 
powerful  in  shaping  the  public's  sym- 
pathies and  interests,  a  column  on  fish 
and  game  in  the  principal  county  news- 
papers of  the  state  supported  by  the  local 
association  of  sportsmen  would  prove 
very  effective  in  stimulating  a  greater 
appreciation  for  fish  and  game.  Califor- 
nia is  making  a  distinguished  success  of 
its  volunteer  wai'den  system  which  has  so 
ably  aided  game  law  observance.  Why 
not,  therefore,  extend  the  volunteer  con- 
ception into  the  realm  of  education  and 
have  volunteer  press  agents? 

J.  H.  Neustadt  in  advocating  this  plan 
writes  in  the  Associated  Sportsman  for 
December,  1929,  as  follows: 

"There  is  a  touch  of  interest  about 
these  personal  home  doings  that  arouses 
the  curiosity  of  all  county  newspaper 
readers,  and  through  this  familiarity  with 
the  subject  of  fish  and  game,  the  public  is 
educated  to  an  appreciation  of  what  is 
being  done,  and  soon  graduates  into  pro- 
tectionists and  active  backers  of  the  offi- 
cers of  the  law  and  sportsmen  generally. 

"The  plan  has  been  practiced  by  the 
San  Mateo  County  Fish  and  Game  Pro- 
tective Association  for  the  past  year,  and 
many  are  the  new  subscribers  who  read 
the  fish  and  game  news  to  their  growing 
children  and  encourage  them  to  become 
sportsmen  of  the  true  type. 

"Every  student  of  human  nature 
knows   there   is  an    element   of   good    in 


CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND   GAME 


177 


every  man,  and  that  Rood  cnn  bo  I)ronght 
out  by  example  and  education. 

"Where  there  is  little  knowledge  there 
is  little  progress. 

"I  know  from  experience,  as  the  pub- 
licity man  of  our  club,  the  newspajiers 
want  the  new.*^,  the  wardens  want  the 
encouragement,  and  th(>  iiul>lic  only  nee<ls 
the  light  and  understanding  of  the  great 
meaning  of  conservation  to  become  sup- 
porters of  the  valuable  work." 

A    NATIONAL   WILD    LIFE    POLICY 
DRAFTED 

During  the  past  year  a  committee  of 
the  Amciican  Game  Conference  of  the 
American  Game  Protective  Association 
has  been  at  work  on  the  preliminary  draft 
of  a  wild-life  conservation  policy.  A 
report  was  submitted  by  this  committee 
to  the  recent  sixteenth  annual  conference 
held  in  New  York  December  2  and  3. 
The  committee,  which  comprises  15  or 
more  of  the  leading  students  of  this  sub- 
ject in  the  country  and  of  which  Aldo 
Leopold,  in  charge  of  the  National  Game 
Survey,  is  chaiiman,  submitted  a  prelim- 
inary report  at  the  conference,  not  as  a 
final  result  of  its  work  but  as  a  basis  of 
further  study.  All  conservationists, 
game  officials  and  others  w'ho  are  study- 
ing this  problem  are  invited  to  examine 
this  report  carefully  and  make  sugges- 
tions as  to  modifications  and  improve- 
ments. 

The  report,  which  is  too  long  to  print 
herein,  analyzes  the  game  problem,  divides 
game  into  four  classes  and  discusses  each 
class  and  its  requirements  at  length.  One 
recommendation  of  the  committee  which 
covers  advanced  ground  is  that  for  class 
one,  or  farm  game,  consisting  of  non- 
migratory  species  such  as  quail,  pheas- 
ants, grouse,  etc.  There  must  be  an  in- 
centive on  the  part  of  the  landowner  in 
order  to  guarantee  a  continuing  and  in- 
creasing game  crop.  This  incentive  must 
be  more  than  sentimental  and  the  com- 
mittee frankly  states  that  the  farmer 
should  be  encouraged  to  grow  a  game  crop 
by  permitting  him  to  charge  for  the  priv- 
ilege of  shooting  on  his  land.  But  it  is 
specifically  pointed  out  that  this  privilege 
should  not  extend  to  land  which  is  not 
managed  for  game.  By  raising  gaine  on 
farms  it  is  not  proposed  to  emi)loy  artifi- 
cial methods  but  to  use  the  natural 
method  of  providing  cover,  fopd  and  pro- 
tection. 

Two  other  alternatives,  it  is  i>ointed 
out  by  the  committee,  are  to  be  f.nced : 
one,  outriglit  adoption  of  the  Euro])ean 
system  for  farm  game  and.  two,  eventual 
complete  closure  of  open  sca.son  on  farm 
game. 


Other  classes  of  game  which  are  found 
in  tiie  forests  and  open  ranges  and  in  the 
wilderness  recpiire  different  treatment  and 
are  discu.ssed  fully  in  the  report.  Migra- 
tory game,  including  waterfowl  and  shore 
birds,  constituting  class  four  game  in  the 
report,  appear  to  be  provided  for  under 
the  system  establislied  by  federal  law  in- 
cluding the  Aligratury  I'.ird  Treaty  Act, 
and  the  Migratory  Bird  Conservation  Act 
which  piopose  to  establish  an  extensive 
series  of  refuges  throughout  the  country. 
This,  according  to  the  committee,  is  not 
sufficient,  however,  to  meet  the  needs  of 
this  class  of  game  completely  and  should 
be  supplemented  by  the  establishment  of 
state  and  private  refuges  and  the  acqui- 
sition by  the  public  of  all  available  re- 
maining marshlands.  There  must  be 
also  a  vast  expansion  of  fact  finding  in 
relation  to  migratory  birds  under  the 
leadership  of  the  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Biologi- 
cal Survey. 

The  committee  finds  that  the  game 
restoration  program  of  today  is  on  too 
small  a  scale.  It  is  far  from  commen- 
surate with  the  needs  of  existing  popula- 
tion and  to  meet  future  growth.  Knowl- 
edge of  facts  is  far  from  adequate.  Re- 
search must  be  greatly  extended  through 
cooperation  of  state  universities  and  other 
institutions  of  learning.  There  must  be 
more  trained  leaders  and  workers  well 
grounded  in  scientific  and  technical  knowl- 
edge. The  work  must  be  more  adequately 
financed  either  by  increased  license  fees 
or  some  other  method. 

The  preliminary  report  of  the  commit- 
tee was  published  in  full  in  the  trans- 
actions of  the  recent  Game  Conference 
and  in  American  Game,  the  oflScial  bulle- 
tin of  the  American  Game  Protective 
Association.  Those  interested  in  studying 
this  report  may  obtain  information  by 
writing  the  association  at  233  Broadway, 
Xew  York  City. 

WHAT   IS  A   SPORTSMAN? 

The  word  sportsman  is  a  much  abused 
term.  To  the  nature  lover  who  would  kill 
no  form  of  wild  creature,  the  term  is 
anathema.  To  the  average  gunner,  it  is 
any  man  who  goes  afield  with  a  gun  in 
search  of  game. 

It  has  remained  for  William  B.  Mer- 
shon  of  Saginaw,  Michigan,  nestor  of 
American  sportsmen,  to  clarify  the  term. 
In  a  notable  address  before  the  recent 
game  conference,  Mr.  Mershon  defined  the 
term.  He  pointed  out  that  sportsman- 
ship during  the  passage  of  the  years  has 
changed  in  teciinique  but  not  in  principle. 
When  this  country  contained  only  thirty 
or  forty  millions  of  people  and  an  abun- 
dance of  game,  when  firearms  were  primi- 


178 


CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND    GAME 


tive  and  transportation  slow,  it  was  con- 
sidered sportsnianlike  to  shoot  without 
limit,  provided  none  of  the  game  was 
wasted. 

Today  that  is  not  the  case.  Vast  in- 
crease in  population,  in  efficiency  of  fire- 
arms and  in  rapid  transit  have  made  it 
necessary  for  more  stringent  restrictions 
so  that  today  the  true  sportsman  is  not 
the  man  who  looks  upon  the  size  of  his 
bag. 

Time  was  when  it  was  perfectly  legiti- 
mate to  shoot  a  partridge  out  of  a  tree, 
but  no  sportsman  would  now  pot  a  bevy 
of  quail  or  shoot  a  duck  on  the  water. 
Unfortunately,  there  are  gunners  who  do 
these  things,  but  they  are  not  entitled  to 
the  designation  of  sportsmen. 

With  changed  conditions  we  must  of 
necessity  raise  our  standards  of  sports- 
manship in  this  country. — Field  and 
Stream,  January,  1D30. 

PROGRAM  FOR  ELK  PROTECTION 

A  commission  for  the  conservation  of 
elk  in  the  Jackson  Hole  region  of  Wyom- 
ing was  created  during  the  existence  of 
the  president's  conference  on  outdoor  rec- 
reation. While  the  conference  has  ceased 
to  function  the  elk  commission  intends  to 
carry  on,  says  an  American  game  protec- 
tive association  news  bulletin. 

At  a  recent  meeting  held  in  Washing- 
ton on  December  5,  1929,  the  commission 
voted  to  voluntarily  continue  its  activi- 
ties. The  need  of  the  elk  which  came 
down  from  Yellowstone  Park  to  the  Jack- 
son Hole  for  their  winter  range  is  en- 
larged range  capacity.  The  frequent  loss 
of  elk  in  this  region  from  st:u"vation  dur- 
ing the  winter  time  is  well  known  and 
the  remedy  is  well  understood.  It  ap- 
pears that  the  Snake  River  Land  Com- 
pany has  acquired  some  25,000  acres  of  ' 
land  which  it  proposes  to  offer  to  the  gov- 
ernment for  elk  range  provided  an  equal 
amount  is  secured  by  congressional  ap- 
propriation. The  refuges  now  owned  by 
the  federal  government  in  that  locality 
for  the  winter  range  of  the  elk  are  wholly 
inadequate  for  the  purpose. 

A  complete  program  for  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  elk  is  to  be  worked  out 
through  cooperation  with  the  Wyoming 
State  Game  and  Fish  Commission,  the  U. 
S.  Forest  Service,  the  National  Park  Ser- 
vice and  the  Biological  Survey. 

The  elk  commission  is  composed  of 
representatives  of  the  Izaak  Walton 
League  of  America,  the  Dude  Wranglers 
Association,  the  Camp  Fire  Club  of  Amer- 
ica, the  Government  of  Wyoming,  the  U. 
S.  Forest  Service,  the  U.  S.  Biological 
Survey,  the  American  Game  Protective 
Association,  the  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 
and  other  interested  organizations. 


BENEFICIAL     EFFECT     OF     FEDERAL 
LAWS 

The  federal  migratory  bird  laws  and 
their  regulations  provided  at  once  a  har- 
mony of  protective  measures,  based  on 
zones,  times  of  flight,  and  relative  abun- 
dance. 

They  furnished  in  a  central  organiza- 
tion the  means  for  accumulating  infor- 
mation relative  to  the  migratory  game- 
bird  situation. 

They  prohibited  the  commercialization 
and  the  spring  shooting  of  migratory 
game  birds,  and  prohibited  also  such  de- 
structive methods  of  taking  hitherto  per- 
mitted under  the  laws  of  many  states,  as 
night  shooting,  trapping  and  snaring. 

By  providing  equal  privileges  in  all 
parts  of  the  country,  the  federal  laws 
eliminated  the  dangerous  effect  of  jeal- 
ousy among  gunners  in  different  sections 
and  developed  the  principle  of  a  mutual 
interest  in  a  common  possession. 

However,  the  establishment  of  the 
principle  of  administration  of  a  national 
resource  by  the  central  government  was  a 
strong  incentive  to  increased  cooperation 
among  the  several  states  in  game-bird 
protection.  The  evident  common  sense, 
fairness  and  effectiveness  of  the  principal 
of  federal  control  arrangement  gradually 
reduced  all  lingering  opposition.  The 
spread  of  this  helpful  spirit  of  cooperation 
is  registered  by  the  fact  that  forty-five 
states  have  voluntarily  brought  their  laws 
relating  to  the  protection  of  migratory 
game  birds  in  harmony  with  the  federal 
regvdations.- — From  an  address  by  W.  C. 
Henderson,  Bureau  of  Biological  Survey, 
before  the  Federation  of  the  Bird  Clubs 
of  New  England,  at  Boston,  Mass.,  Janu- 
ary 16,  1930. 

COLLECTION  OF  LOCH  LEVEN 
TROUT  EGGS 

The  superintendent  of  the  Bozeman, 
Montana,  station  has  again  reported  a 
record-breaking  take  of  loch  leven  trout 
eggs  at  the  auxiliary  station  at  Meadow 
Creek,  Montana.  These  eggs,  secured 
from  wild  fish  running  up  Odell  Creek, 
have  been  taken  in  increasing  quantities 
during  the  past  few  years.  The  total  col- 
lection for  this  season,  aggregating  over 
17,000,000,  represents  the  largest  number 
of  eggs  that  has  been  secured  in  this  field 
to  date.  These  increases  have  been  based 
upon  a  return  to  parental  waters  during 
recent  years  of  the  product  of  not  more 
than  40  per  cent  of  the  eggs  taken.  This 
fact  would  seem  to  indicate  that  when 
proper  conditions  prevail  60  per  cent  of 
the  potential  egg  supply  to  be  derived 
from  a  population  of  trout  can  be  diverted 
to    other    waters    without    crippling    the 


CALIFORNIA    FISIT    AND   GAME 


179 


natural     production. — Fisherim     Service 
Bulletin,  January  2,  1930,  No.  I.TG. 

MUSK      OX      REFUGE      SAFEGUARDED 

Tlie  Tlu'lon  (Jaine  Sanctuary,  cast  of 
Great  Slave  Lake  in  the  Nortlnvcst  Terri- 
tory, which  contains  the  last  known  herd 
of  musk  ox  on  the  Canadian  mainland, 
has  been  closed.  No  person,  either  Indian 
or  white  man,  will  be  permitted  to  enter 
this  l.">,()()()-mile  preserve  unless  by  special 
arranfccment.  The  musk  ox  is  rare,  and 
action  has  been  taken  by  order-in-council 
to  conserve  the  herd  of  approximately  2.j0 
known  to  have  their  habitat  in  this  area. 
— Science,  vol.  70,  No.  1823,  December  0, 
1929. 

FISH    REFUGES    IN    WISCONSIN 

By  the  establishment  at  the  last  meet- 
ing of  the  conservation  commission  of  121 
fish  refuges  in  twenty-seven  counties  of 
the  state  of  Wisconsin,  the  commission 
has  commenced  the  work  of  protecting 
fish  by  setting  aside  areas  in  which  they 
are  safe  the  same  way  game  has  been 
protected  for  many  years. 

Although  this  idea  is  new  in  Wisconsin, 
it  is  not  new  in  other  states.  New  York, 
Pennsylvania,  and  other  states  in  the 
east  for  several  years  have  had  fish 
refuges,  which  have  materially  bettered 
fishing  conditions  there.  In  the  upper 
peninsula  of  Michigan  there  have  been 
several  refuges  established.  In  one  in- 
stance in  the  upper  peninsula,  east  of 
Watersmeet,  one  whole  stream  was  closed 
to  fishing  for  several  years.  People  in 
the  upper  peninsula  respected  this  order, 
and  although  the  stream  runs  for  several 
miles  along  the  road  there  have  been  very 
few  violations  of  the  order. 

The  purpose  of  establishing  fish  refuges 
is  to  protect  the  spawning  beds  and  home 
of  infant  fish.  Establisliiug  trout  refuges 
does  not  affect  fishing  at  all,  as  the  only 
parts  of  the  streams  which  are  closed  arc 
the  very  headwaters  or  the  small  tribu- 
tary feeder  streams  into  which  big  fish 
go  only  at  spawning  time. 

The  only  way  refuges  can  be  estab- 
lished in  lakes  for  pike,  pickerel,  bass, 
muskellunge,  and  other  lake  fish,  is  to 
designate  a  certain  area  which  is  known 
to  be  either  a  spawning  bed  or  a  lurking 
place  for  baby  fish.  Because  spawning 
beds  can  not  be  limited  definitely  by  feet 
and    inches,    it    is   necessary    to    restrict 


fishing  in  an  area  large  enough  to  be  sure 
of  including  the  sjiawning  beds.  Connect- 
ing streams  between  lakes  are  very  fre- 
(luontly  favorite  places  for  spawning,  and 
though  the  entire  stream  probably  is  not 
used  Ijy  the  fish  for  spawning  beds,  still 
the  beds  ai'e  close  enough  together  to 
make  it  iniiierativo  that  the  whole  stream 
be  closed  if  tlie  beds  are  to  receive  ample 
protection. — Duane  H..  Kipp,  Outdoor 
Life,  January,  1930. 

BIOLOGISTS     TO     STUDY     WILD     LIFE 
IN    FORESTS 

Two  research  specialists  have  been  ap- 
Iiointed  to  positions  in  the  Bureau  of  Bio- 
logical Survey,  U.  S.  Department  of  Agri- 
culture, effective  at  the  beginning  of  the 
year,  in  accordance  with  cooperative 
plans  to  place  qualified  biologists  at 
various  experiment  stations  of  the  Forest 
Service.  These  scientists  will  study  the 
relation  of  wild  life  to  the  forests,  as 
authorized  by  the  recently  enacted  INIc- 
Sweeney-McNary  Forestry  Research  Act. 

Thomas  D.  Burleigh,  for  the  last  nine 
years  head  of  the  division  of  forestry  of 
the  Georgia  State  College  of  Agriculture 
and  one  of  the  appointees,  has  been  ap- 
pointed to  the  position  of  associate  biolo- 
gist and  will  be  stationed  at  the  Appala- 
chian Forest  Experiment  Station,  Ashe- 
ville,  N.  C.  He  is  a  graduate  of  Pennsyl- 
vania State  College  and  the  University  of 
Washington.  He  has  devoted  consider- 
able time  to  the  study  of  the  bird  life  of 
Georgia. 

Oliver  L.  Austin  Jr.,  of  New  York,  a 
graduate  of  Wesleyan  University  and  who 
has  done  three  years'  graduate  work  in 
Harvard  University,  has  been  appointed 
assistant  biologist  to  cari*y  on  studies  of 
wild-life  and  forest  relationships  at  the 
Dake  States  Forest  Experiment  Station, 
St.  Paul,  Minn.  He  spent  the  summer 
of  1925  studying  jungle  ecology  in  British 
Guiana,  South  America,  and  has  made 
three  trips  to  Labrador  to  study  the  dis- 
tribution of  the  vertebrate  fauna  of  the 
region.  On  his  Labrador  trips  he  did 
notable  work  in  bird  banding,  particularly 
with  Arctic  terns,  in  cooperation  with  the 
Biological  Survey.  Two  of  the  terns  that 
were  recovered,  one  in  France  and  another 
in  South  Africa,  established  remarkable 
tlight  records,  the  latter  flying  the  longest 
distance  of  any  banded  bird  ever  recap- 
tured, as  far  as  any  known  records  show. 


180 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND   GAME 


DIVISION  ACTIVITIES 


Bureau  of  Patrol 


During  tho  iiiontlis  of  November,  De- 
cember and  January  71!)  arrests  were 
made  by  the  Bureau  of  Patrol  for  viola- 
tions of  the  fish  and  game  laws.  As  a 
result  of  those  arrests,  a  total  of  $22,- 
669.50  was  collected  in  fines  and  jail  sen- 
tences of  IISO  days  were  meted  out  by 
justices  and  judges.  During  the  same 
period  one  year  previous,  721  arrests 
were  made  and  $20,480  was  collected  in 
fines.  These  figures  indicate  that  the 
Bureau  of  Patrol  is  still  one  of  the  most 
important  departments  of  the  Division, 
and  that  the  work  along  this  line  will  be 
a  never  ending  task. 


Deputies  L.  T.  Ward  and  Charles 
Sibeck  apprehended  two  hunters  with 
deer  meat  in  their  possession  during  the 
closed  season.  A  $1,000  fine  was  levied 
in  this  case,  which  is  an  enviable  mark 
at  which  many  of  the  deputies  may  aim. 


Seven  deputies  of  the  Patrol  Depart- 
ment who  were  in  their  probationary 
periods  of  service  were  separated  from  the 
force  during  the  month  of  January  be- 
cause their  work  was  unsatisfactory. 


The  patrol  boats  Quinnat  and  Ilunier 
were  enlisted  in  the  search  for  the  body 
of  Perry  E.  Bobo,  who  was  drowned  in 
the  Petaluma  River  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  Black  Pond  drawbridge.  Bobo  was 
the  night  custodian  of  the  railroad  draw- 
bridge. 


Bureau  of  Commercial 
Fisheries 


On  November  8  the  bids  on  the  new 
patrol  boat  were  opened  in  Sacramento. 
Nine  companies  bid  on  the  boat  and  the 
bids  ranged  from  $57,801  to  a  little  over 
$79,000.  The  lowest  bidder  was  the  San 
Diego  Marine  Construction  Company,  and 
they  received  the  contract.  Mr.  L.  E. 
Geary,  the  architect,  calls  it  a  "service 
boat,"  and  it  will  be  about  the  following 
dimensions  :  Length,  86  feet ;  beam,  18J 
feet ;  draft,  7  feet  .3  inches.  The  specifi- 
cations call  for  a  single  drum  winch  to 
be  used  in  research  work.  It  was  esti- 
mated this  winch  would  cost  about  $1,250. 
It  has  since  been  found  that  a  double 
drum  winch  will  be  needed,  and  in  order 


that  such  a  winch  may  be  installed,  per- 
mission has  h(H>n  obtained  from  the  De- 
partment of  Finance  to  increase  the 
amount  which  can  be  expended  on  the 
new  boat  (including  the  architect's  fee) 
to  $03,000. 


The  lampara  fishermen  believe  that  the 
sardine  supply  at  Monterey  is  being  de- 
pleted by  the  present  fishing  operations 
and  they  blame  principally  the  purse 
seine.  They  are  opposed  to  the  operation 
of  additional  oil  plants  on  the  ground  that 
the  sardine  supply  can  not  stand  the 
strain.  They  say  that  they  will  be  thrown 
out  of  employment  if  the  sardine  supply 
fails  and  their  families,  who  work  in  the 
canneries,  will  be  without  work. 


The  sardine  season  opened  in  southern 
California  on  the  first  of  November  and 
during  the  month  large  quantities  of  sar- 
dines were  caught.  These  fish  practically 
all  came  from  the  islands  80  to  100  miles 
distant.  Duinng  all  of  the  month  they 
ran  quite  small,  and  during  the  first  of 
the  month  these  fish  came  in  in  poor  con- 
dition, making  it  difiicult  for  the  canners 
to  get  their  13.5  cases  to  the  ton,  as 
required  by  law. 

Monterey  canners  all  made  their  13.5 
cases  per  ton  of  sardines  during  the 
month  of  December.  Very  few,  if  any,  of 
them  packed  a  higher  percentage  of  the 
sardines  than  the  law  requires. 


An  investigation  by  the  State  Fisheries 
Laboratory  as  to  the  reason  why  some 
boat  loads  of  sardines  are  in  excellent 
shape  while  others  are  in  very  poor  con- 
dition when  they  are  delivered  to  the 
canneries  was  made  during  the  month  of 
January.  It  was  determined  that  the 
poor  condition  of  the  sardines  is  caused 
by  keeping  them  in  the  boats  too  long 
before  delivery  to  the  canneries  and  that 
there  is  no  evidence  that  the  fish  at  one 
point  is  in,  poorer  condition  when  caught 
than  fish  in  another  locality. 


Bureau  of  Finance 


In  the  early  part  of  December,  the  1930 
series  of  hunting  and  fishing  licenses  was 
received  from  the  State  Printing  Oflice 
and  was  checked  and  verified  by  a  repre- 
sentative of  the  State  Controller's  Office. 
The  value  of  the  hunting  licenses  received 
was  $709,000  and  of  the  angling  licenses, 
$691,000.     Other  licenses  received  during 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND   GAME 


181 


the  iiioiith  for  issuanco  in  1030  wore  gaiue 
breeder's  in  amount  $1,250;  kelp,  .$50 ; 
domesticated  fisli  breeders,  ip.lOO  ;  domesti- 
cated  fish  importers,  .*?12r) ;  and  a  siipple- 
ineiital  order  of  mari<et  fishermen's 
licenses  in  the  amount  of  $20,000.  The 
face  value  of  all  licenses  received  was 
$1,481,925. 


The  sales  for  m.arket  fishermen's 
licenses  to  January  31,  1030.  amounted  to 
$36,400.  This  is  an  increase  of  $4.0r)0 
over  the  1028-20  series  at  this  time  last 
year.  The  total  amount  of  fish  packer's 
tax  receipts  as  of  -Tanuary  31st  was  $89,- 
659.60.  This  is  for  the  period  July  1st 
to  January  31st.  For  the  same  period 
last  year,  $70,403.75  was  received. 


Bureau  of  Fish  Culture 


The  collection  of  Quinnat  salmon  eggs 
at  the  Klamathon  station  was  very  disap- 
Iiointing,  due  to  the  clear,  di-y  weather  in 
Xovember  and  early  fall.  For  good  runs 
of  salmon  in  the  river,  rains  are  neces- 
sary. The  poor  runs  have  not  been  con- 
fined to  the  Klamath  River,  as  the  same 
conditions  prevailed  at  the  three  govern- 
ment salmon  stations  on  the  Sacramento 
River.  While  the  take  at  the  Klamathon 
station  was  small,  it  was  as  large  as  at 
any  of  the  other  stations.  The  total  take 
for  the  season  was  3,103,000  Quinnat  sal- 
mon eggs,  all  of  wliich  were  shipped  by 
truck  to  the  Fall  Creek  Hatchery. 


While  the  run  of  Quinnat  salmon  on 
the  Klamath  was  small,  the  run  of  trout 
was  the  largest  in  many  years.  From 
150  to  300  large  trout  were  caught  in  the 
traps  for  salmon  daily  for  over  six  weeks, 
and  liberated  in  the  river  above  the  racks. 
Besides  these,  there  was  a  very  large  run 
of  smaller  trout  that  went  through  the 
racks,   of  which   no   count   could   be   kept. 


During  the  month  of  Xovember.  the 
4395  Atlantic  s;ilmon  which  were  being 
held  in  tanks  at  the  Prairie  Creek  station 
were  planted  in  Redwood  Creek.  They 
had  reached  a  length  of  from  four  to  five 
inches.  During  the  cold  weather  of  the 
fall,  with  consequent  lowered  water  tem- 
perature, they  added  but  little  to  their 
size,  not  feeding  very  heavily  in  the  cold 
water. 


On  November  12,  24.000  of  the  Atlantic 
salmon  raised  in  the  Cold  Creek  tanks 
were  planted  in  the  South  Fork  of  the 
Smith  River  about  40  miles  from  the 
mouth.  The  first  plant  of  25  cans  was 
distributed  in  Hurdy  Gurdy  Creek.  Forty- 


five  cans  were  distributed  in  the  main 
South  Fork  of  the  Smith  River  after  a 
long,  hard  trip  from  Eureka  by  truck. 


A  reconnaissance  survey  was  made 
during  Noveml>er  of  the  principal  streams 
of  San  Mateo  County,  followed  by  a  re- 
port of  the  project.  The  object  of  this 
work  is  a  biological  survey  of  these 
streams.  George  A.  Coleman  made  the 
survey. 


On  Decembtn-  13,  1020,  808,000  Quin- 
nat salmon  were  liberated  from  the  Mt. 
Shasta  ponds  into  tributaries  of  the  Sac- 
ramento River.  The  fish  were  in  fine 
condition. 


On  December  30,  1020,  25,000  brown 
trout  eggs  were  shipped  to  Samoa.  This 
shipment  was  made  in  accordance  with 
the  request  of  Mr.  C.  W.  Dunlap.  Chief 
Pay  Clerk,  United  States  Naval  Station. 
Tutuila,  Samoa,  for  a  quantity  of  fertile 
trout  eggs,  sufficient  to  stock  a  stream 
leading  from  the  upper  reservoir  of  the 
naval  station. 


On  December  9,  1920,  the  remaining 
6000  Atlantic  salmon  in  the  Cold  Creek 
hatchery  were  planted  in  Cold  Creek  and 
the  Russian  River.  They  had  grown 
quite  large  and  were  in  fine  condition. 


The  egg-taking  station  on  Shovel  Creek 
has  been  opened  again  this  season,  and  is 
still  in  the  experimental  stage.  This  was 
the  first  egg-collecting  station  operated  on 
the  Klamath  River,  having  been  estab- 
lished in  1889.  It  was  abandoned  in 
1011.  Being  located  above  the  Copco 
Dam,  any  eggs  collected  will  be  from 
native  river  trout  and  not  from  sea  run 
fish.  Just  how  many  trout  enter  the 
creek  to  spawn  is  unknown.  A  .station 
for  taking  native  trout  is  very  desirable. 


Bureau   of  Education  and 
Research 


Many  additional  features  have  been 
added  to  the  library  of  motion  picture 
films.  The  entire  film  library  has  been 
reorganized,  all  negative  and  positive 
film  has  been  properly  labeled  and  a 
complete  list  of  films  available  for  loan 
has  been  prepared. 


Beginning  December  10,  1020,  the 
Bureau  of  I'ublic  Relations  was  discon- 
tinued and  the  work  of  that  department 
was  placed  under  the  supervision  of  the 
Bureau  of  Education  and  Research. 

The  publicity  work  was  originally  a 
part  of  this  bureau. 


182 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND    GAME 


E.  L.  Sumner,  Jr.,  a  graduate  of 
Pomona  Colloyre,  who  is  now  working  for 
a  doctor's  degree  at  the  University  of  Cali- 
fornia, has  been  appointed  a  Research 
Fellow  to  investigate  the  relations  be- 
tween predatory  species  and  game.  It  is 
hoped  that  an  impartial  investigation  will 
bring  together  much  useful  information 
on  this  subject  of  controversy. 


Gordon  True,  also  a  graduate  student 
of  the  University  of  California,  has  been 
temporarily  employed  to  study  the  rela- 
tion of  deer  to  growing  crops.  There  has 
been  much  complaint  of  damage  by  deer. 
^Ir.  Ti'ue  will  also  investigate  disease  in 
deer  and  its  relation  to  domestic  stock. 


Bureau  of  Game  Refuges 


A  final  cheek  upon  the  deer  killed  for 
the  season  of  1929  showed  the  total  to  be 
21,222,  only  280  short  of  the  kill  for  last 
year.  A  check  against  the  returns  of  pre- 
vious years  shows  the  proportion  of  well 
antlered  bucks  has  remained  constant 
during  the  three  years  that  the  deer  tag 
system  has  been  in  effect.  Statistics  also 
show  that  there  is  an  average  of  nearly 
one  four-point  buck  to  every  four  deer 
killed  throughout  the  state. 


During    the    year    1929,    314    bounty 
claims  were  filed  for  mountain  lions  killed 
the    state.      Jay    C.    Bruce    took    five 


m 


lions  alive,  for  which  no  bounty  claim 
was  filed.  Of  all  the  lion  hunters  in  the 
state,  Bruce  was  high,  with  a  total  of  22 
animals  killed  and  five  taken  alive. 


During  the  year  1929,  321  game  breed- 
er's licenses  were  issued ;  ISO  in  southern 
California  and  141  in  the  northern  part 
of  the  state. 


Bureau  of  Hydraulics 


The  Mendota  wier  on  the  San  Joaquin 
River,  operated  by  the  San  Joaquin  and 
Kings  River  Canal  and  Irrigation  Com- 
pany, has  been  repaired  and  now  func- 
tions in  a  satisfactory  manner.    The  com- 


pany has  also  cooperated  in  the  construc- 
tion of  the  fish  ladder  at  this  wier. 


Bureau  of  Game  Farms 


During  November,  1929.  30  wild  tur- 
keys were  shipped  from  Yountville  to  be 
liberated  in  the  Breckenridge  Forest  Re- 
serve nei^r  Bakersfield.  The  birds  were 
trucked  to  Crockett,  where  they  were 
placed  on  a  Southern  Pacific  train  for 
Bakersfield.  Here  they  weie  pi'^-ked  up 
by  truck  and  taken  to  the  point  of  libera- 
tion. 


On  December  S,  1929,  the  new  IjOs  Ser- 
ranos  Game  Farm  was  officially  dedi- 
cated. The  dedication  ceremony  was  at- 
tended by  7947  visitors.  This  was  one  of 
the  conservation  events  of  the  year,  with 
the  Division  of  Fish  and  Game,  the  Asso- 
ciated Sportsmen,  the  Izaak  Walton 
League  of  America  and  other  public  spir- 
ited organizations  starring  in  the  activi- 
ties of  the  day. 


Volunteer  Deputies 


During  the  month  of  December,  1929, 
the  volunteer  deputies  of  the  San  Fran- 
cisco district  purchased  a  boat  suitable 
for  their  work  in  bay  control,  and  they 
have  equipped  the  same  with  motor  and 
trailer  at  the  cost  of  about  $1,000.  The 
boat,  motor  and  trailer  have  been  turned 
over  to  the  Patrol  Department  of  the 
division  and  will  be  used  by  the  volunteer 
deputies  of  the  San  Francisco  district  for 
the  enforcement  of  game  laws  in  genei-al 
in  all  districts  and  the  fish  laws  in  the 
noncommercial  fish  districts  in  the  bay 
region  particularly. 


Between  July  1  and  December  31,  1929, 
volunteer  deputies,  in  addition  to  patrol- 
ling many  thousands  of  miles  of  game 
fields,  streams,  coast  lines  and  bay  shores, 
checked  12,064  hunting  licenses,  14,9G1 
angling  licenses  and  9S5S  deer  tags.  They 
made  and  assisted  in  making  392  arrests 
for  violations  of  the  game  laws,  in  which 
cases  fines  in  the  sum  of  $10,975  were 
imposed. 


CALIFORNIA    FISH   AND   GAME 


183 


LIFE  HISTORY  NOTES 


THE  MIGRATION  OF  THE  WESTERN 
MOURNING  DOVE  (ZENAIDURA 
MACROURA  MARGINELLA)  IN 
CALIFORNIA 

Tho  wostorn  mourning  clove  is  widely 
distributed  throughout  California  in 
spring,  summer  and  fall,  but  in  winter  is 
found  only  ill  the  southern  end  of  the 
state  and  sparingly  in  the  central  valleys. 
(Grinnell,  Pacific  Coast  Avifauna,  No. 
11,  1915,  p.  G2.)  This  seasonal  distribu- 
tion necessitates  migratory  movements  in 
spring  and  fall,  but  the  question  is,  how 
extensive  are  the  movements?  Do  the 
birds  shift  to  the  nearest  suitable  winter 
areas  in  the  fall  and  then  back  to  the 
closest  summer  range  in  the  spring,  or  do 
they  make  long  migratory  flights? 

The  returns  from  banded  mourning 
doves  east  of  the  Rocky  ^Mountains  indi- 
cate that  they  make  long  flights  in  spring 
and  fall.  Two  publications  of  the  Bureau 
of  Biological  Survey  (Dept.  Bull.  No. 
1268,  U.  S.  Dept.  Agric,  Oct.  16,  1924, 
and  Tech.  Bull.  No.  32,  U.  S.  Dept.  Agric, 
Dec,  1927)  give  the  record  of  130  returns 
of  mourning  doves  banded  during  the 
years  1920  to  1926.  All  but  one  of  these 
birds  were  banded  east  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  Ninety-nine  of  these  birds 
were  taken  at  or  near  the  place  of  band- 
ing and  give  no  information  as  to  where 
they  were  between  the  time  they  were 
banded  and  when  they  were  shot  or  recap- 
tured. But  the  remaining  thirty-one  birds 
made  long  migratory  flights ;  as  for  in- 
stance, birds  banded  at  Kansas,  Illinois, 
were  taken  in  Alabama,  Arkansas,  Flor- 
ida, Georgia,  Louisiana  and  Texas. 
Georgia  seems  to  be  a  favorite  winter 
resort  for  birds  from  a  wide  area  to  the 
north,  as  birds  banded  in  Illinois,  Indi- 
ana, Ohio,  New  Jersey  and  New  York 
have  been  taken  in  (Jeorgia. 

The  records  of  the  Western  Bird  Band- 
ing Association  for  the  years  1924  to 
192S,  iTiclusive,  show  only  seventy-three 
mourning  doves  banded  in  California  dur- 
ing those  five  years.  Almost  one-half  of 
these  were  nestlings,  which  in  some 
measure  accounts  for  the  scarcity  of  re- 
turns. Only  two  returns  from  these 
birds  are  known  to  me :  No.  33S912, 
banded  as  a  nestling  near  Artesia.  Los 
Angeles  County,  May  23,  1920,  by  James 
A.  Calder,  was  killed  at  Downey.  Los 
Angeles  County,  September  1,  1927,  by 
T.  F.  Slusser.  The  distance  is  about  five 
miles.  No.  3C5512,  banded  as  an  adult  at 
361  S.  Thirty-fifth  street,  San  Diego,  by 


E.  H.  Glidden  on  February  10,  1928,  was 
killed  two  miles  east  of  National  City, 
September  1,  1928,  by  Julia  Weisser. 
The  distance  is  about  five  miles. 

A  third  return  has  recently  come  to 
my  attention  that  shows  that  our  Califor- 
nia birds,  in  common  with  their  eastern 
kindred,  sometimes  make  long  flights : 
No.  365539,  banded  as  an  adult  at  San 
Diego,  January  3,  1929,  by  E.  H.  Glidden, 
was   killed   at   Boise,   Idaho,   October   2, 

1929.  by  John  Crowe. 

Obviously  we  need  more  bands  on 
mourning  doves  in  California.  The  trap- 
ping and  banding  of  adult  mourning  doves 
in  large  numbers,  would  be  sure  to  bring 
many  interesting  returns,  and  the  infor- 
mation thus  gained  would  be  of  real  value 
to  the  administrators  of  the  laws  designed 
to  conserve  this  valuable  game  bird.  Such 
banding  must  be  done  of  course  under 
permit  from  the  Bureau  of  Biological 
Survey  and  the  Division  of  Fish  and 
Game.  I  would  be  glad  to  correspond 
with  anyone  who  would  be  interested  in 
banding  mourning  doves  in  California,  or 
anywhere  in  the  west.  Here  is  an  oppor- 
tunity for  some  one  to  do  some  construc- 
tive conservation  work. — John  McB.  Rob- 
ertson, Buena  Park,  California,  January 
29,  1930. 

COLORADO  RIVER  TROUT  CAPTURED 
IN  IMPERIAL  COUNTY 

That  the  Colorado  River  trout  (Salmo 
plciiriticus)  occasionally  appears  in  Im- 
perial County  is  evidenced  by  the  taking 
of   fish    of    this    species   on    January    21. 

1930,  in  an  irrigation  ditch  connected 
with  the  Colorado  River  by  F.  E.  Cres- 
sey.  Mr.  Cressey  reports  having  planted 
it  alive  in  a  pond. — H.  C.  Bi-j-ant,  510 
Russ  Building,  San  Francisco. 

OPOSSUM  TAKEN  AT  SAN  DIEGO 
The  capture  on  January  2  of  a  Virginia 
opossum  in  the  henhouse  at  Allen's  Dairy, 
in  Mission  Valley,  is  worthy  of  note.  This 
animal  was  taken  not  far  from  the  place 
where  an  opossum  was  killed  on  October 
24,  192().  but  there  have  been  no  records 
of  opossums  in  the  meantime.  In  fact, 
this  latest  specimen  is  only  the  fourth 
occurrence  in  San  Diego  County  known 
to  the  staff  of  the  Natural  Histoi-y  Mu- 
seum— the  other  three  having  all  been 
secured  in  widely  separated  parts  of  the 
county  during  the  last  three  months  of 
the  year  1926.  It  is  supposed  that  the 
animals,  which  are  liable  to  become  a 
pest,    have    been    artificially    introduced. 


184 


CALIFORNIA    FISH   AND   GAME 


but  definite  information  is  lacking. — The 
Natural  History  Museum  Bulletin,  San 
Diego,  California,  February  1,  1930. 

BREEDING     HABITS    OF    MULE    DEER 

On  November  G,  I'JliU,  in  an  open  flat 
on  the  Yankee  Jim  Allotment,  Warner 
Mountains,  Modoc  County,  California,  I 
saw  a  band  of  deer  acting  as  though  some- 
thing was  bothering  them.  I  left  my 
horse,  sneaked  up  to  a  point  about  200 
yards  from  the  deer  and  climbed  a  small 
juniper  the  better  to  observe  what  was 
going  on.  I  soon  perceived  that  the  ani- 
mals were  rutting.  There  were  17  deer 
in  the  band — 14  does  and  3  bucks.  One 
was  a  large  seven-pointer,  the  second,  a 
three-pointer  and  the  third  buck  a  forked- 
horn.  The  large  buck  was  continually 
trying  to  drive  the  smaller  bucks  away 
from  the  does.  I  watched  them  for  about 
an  hour  and  a  half.  The  large  buck 
would  chase  the  three-pointer  about  100 
yards  from  the  does,  then  look  back  and 
see  the  forked-horn  with  the  does.  He 
would  then  chase  off  the  forked-horn 
while  the  three-pointer  would  follow  back 
to  the  does.  During  the  time  that  I 
watched  them,  the  small  bucks  made  nine 
covers  and  the  large  buck  not  one.  The 
large  buck's  exertions  were  telling  on  him 
and  he  was  nearly  run  down. 

On  June  17,  1927,  I  again  crossed  the 
Yankee  Jim  Allotment.  I  saw  7  does 
with  11  fawns  which  all  looked  to  be 
about  the  same  age.  There  are  always 
many  deer  on  this  range. 

On  November  3,  1928,  I  saw  nine  does 
and  a  forked-horn  buck  on  Bear  Flat.  1 
watched  them  for  about  two  hours  and 
during  that  time  the  buck  made  six 
covers. 

In  Long  Valley,  the  early  part  of  No- 
vember, 1927,  I  saw  a  band  of  does  feed- 
ing. A  large  buck  came  out  of  the  tim- 
ber, separated  one  doe  from  the  band  and 
drove  her  off  down  the  valley  into  the 
timber.  I  have  noticed  this  occur  many 
times.  The  old  bucks  will  single  out  one 
or  two  does  and  herd  them  away  from  the 
other  deer.  The  young  bucks,  on  the 
other  hand,  will  run  witli  a  band  of  does. 
Many  of  the  old  residents  of  Surprise  Val- 
ley have  observed  these  same  habits  and 
will  vouch  for  this  statement. 

From  my  observations  I  am  of  the 
opinion  that  the  breeding  season  for  the 
mule  deer  in  the  Warner  Mountain  sec- 
tion is  from  about  October  20  to  Decem- 
ber 20.  The  heaviest  breeding  season  is 
during  the  first  twenty  days  of  Novem- 
ber. The  gestation  period  for  mule  deer 
is  212  days.  From  records  I  have  kept 
during  the  past  six  years,  75  per  cent  of 
the  small  fawns  I  have  noticed  were  born 
between  June  5  and  July  1.     During  this 


l>eriod  in  1929,  I  saw  129  small  fawns 
that  looked  to  be  from  five  to  twenty  days 
old.  In  the  same  period  in  1928,  I  saw 
142  fawns.  The  earliest  fawn  I  have  any 
record  of  seeing  was  born  ]\Iay  17,  1926. 
and  the  latest  fawn  I  ever  saw  was  born 
on  August  7,  1929. 

On  the  evening  of  August  6,  I  noticed 
that  an  old  doe,  which  had  been  staying 
in  the  horse  pasture  at  Patterson  Kanger 
Station  for  the  past  five  seasons,  was 
heavy  with  fawn.  The  next  morning 
when  I  went  after  my  horses  this  doe 
got  up  out  of  some  brush  and  trotted 
off.  The  dog  went  over  toward  where 
she  had  been  lying  and  the  doe  came 
back  after  him.  I  went  over  to  see  why 
she  was  chasing  him  about  and  there 
were  two  fawns.  They  had  just  been 
born  and  were  still  wet.  I  watched  these 
fawns  to  see  how  long  it  was  before  they 
istarted  following  their  mother.  On  the 
sixth  morning  when  I  went  after  my 
horse  I  found  that  they  were  following 
her.  I  noticed  them  nearly  every  day  I 
was  at  Patterson  Hanger  Station  until 
about  October  1. 

This  old  doe  has  raised  ten  fawns  in  the 
six  summers.  In  1924,  she  appeared  on 
June  12   with   two   fawns;   on   June   10, 

1925,  she   had   one   fawn   with   her.      In 

1926,  on  July  11,  I  saw  her  with  two 
fawns  and  on  June  14.  1927,  she  had  one 
fawn.  On  June  0,  1928,  she  had  two 
fawns  and  on  August  7,  1929.  two  fawns. 

A  good  many  of  the  small  bucks  run 
with  the  does  the  entire  season.  Several 
times  I  have  seen  a  band  of  does  in  July 
and  August  with  two  forked-horns  and  a 
three-point  buck  with  them. 

On  August  15,  1929,  I  saw  thirty-three 
deer  in  one  band  at  the  head  of  Shilds 
Creek.  There  were  12  does,  IS  fawns,  1 
three-ix)iut  buck  and  2  forked-honi  bucks 
in  the  band.  Tlie  next  day.  I  also  saw  a 
forked-horn  buck  with  eight  does  ami 
fawns.  I  can  not  recall  seeing  a  large 
buck  with  does  before  October  10  and 
then  only  occasionally.  From  all  appear- 
ances the  large  bucks  do  not  begin  to 
come  out  to  the  does  until  about  Octo- 
ber 20. 

For  the  past  five  seasons  I  have  kept  a 
list  of  the  deer  I  have  seen :  192."),  8(il  ; 
1926,  1232 ;  1927, 1321 ;  1928.  1420  :  1929, 
1426.  I  did  not  attempt  to  keep  a  sep- 
arate record  of  the  bucks. 

I  am  of  the  opinion  that  the  buck 
under  five  years  of  age  is  the  best  breeder. 
We  all  know  that  the  two-  or  three-year- 
old  bull  is  better  than  the  older  bull  on 
the  range.  All  the  successful  sheepmen 
do  not  believe  in  keeping  a  ram  over  four 
years  old. — Oscar  L.  Barnum,  U.  S. 
Forest  Ranger,  Cedarville,  California, 
January  7,  1930. 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND    GAME 


185 


COMMERCIAL  FISHERY  NOTES 

N.   B.    SCOFIELD,   Editor 


HOW      ABALONES      ARE     SOMETIMES 
PLANTED 

The  bulk  of  the  fresh  abalone  that  is 
eaten  by  ("iilifornians  comes  from  Mon- 
terey. During  the  past  few  years  over 
2,000,000  pounds  of  this  delicious  mollusk 
meat  have  annually  left  the  Monterey 
markets.  To  help  supply  this  demand, 
eight  abalone  boats  deliver  to  four  of  the 
markets  at  Monterey  that  are  equipped 
to  handle  abalone.  During  the  abalone 
season,  which  lasts  from  March  16  to 
January  15,  one  of  these  boats  will  bring 
in  from  60  to  250  dozen  market-size  aba- 
lones  each  trip.  As  high  as  1600  dozen 
have  been  unloaded  by  these  eight  boats  in 
a  day. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  November  5, 
1929,  the  Japanese  abalone  boat  Nagato, 
carrying  a  crew  of  five  men  (including 
two  divers),  was  coming  in  to  deliver  its 
capacity  load  of  250  dozen  abalones  to 
the  A.  Paladini  Company.  It  had  suc- 
cessfully made  the  run  up  the  coast  from 
below  Point  Tx)bos,  and  was  well  within 
Monterey  Bay  when  the  boat  ran  into  a 
heavy  fog.  The  fog  confused  the  pilot  of 
the  Nagato,  who  failed  to  allow  enough 
clearance  for  China  (Mussel)  Point,  on 
which  the  Hopkins  Marine  Station  of 
Stanford  University  is  located.  The  boat 
hit  the  rocks  of  the  point  and  turned  over 
on  its  side,  throwing  men,  eciuipmont  and 
abalones  into  the  water.  Luckily,  an- 
other abalone  boat  had  been  running 
alongside  farther  out,  and  so  the  Nagato 
crew  swam  to  the  other  boat.  As  the  law 
specifies  that  abalones  must  bo  brought 
to  shore  in  the  shell  and  in  a  live  condi- 
tion, and  as  the  wreck  occurred  in  a 
district  closed  to  diving,  the  result  was  a 
plant  of  250  market-size  abalones  on  the 
rocks  of  China  Point. 

The  Division  of  Fish  and  Game  of  Cali- 
fornia has  found  that  specifying  an 
eight-inch  lower  limit  on  the  size  of  the 
abalones  taken  by  the  market  fishermen 
will  not  deplete  the  supply  to  any  e.xlent, 
for  at  this  time  the  abalone  has  siiawned 
.several  times  and  is  past  the  peak  of  pro- 
ductive spawning,  so  that  the  weeding 
out  at  this  size  may  be  really  beneficial 
on  the  whole. 

The  abalones  landed  at  the  Monterey 
markets  are  obtained  entirely  by  diving 
in  District  18  (which  extends  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Carmel  River  to  the  south- 
ern boundary  of  Santa  Barbara  County). 
The  diving  must  be   done  in   twenty   or 


more  feet  of  water,  as  the  law  siwcifies 
that  no  abalones  may  be  sold  that  are 
taken  between  high  water  mark  and 
twenty  feet  below  extreme  low  tide  in 
Districts  7,  10  and  IS.  This  insures  a 
permanent  supply  for  the  sportsman, 
whose  activities  are  naturally  confined  to 
wading  at  low  tide. — J.  B.  Phillips,  Cali- 
fornia State  Fisheries  liaboratory.  No- 
vember 30,  1929. 

SHOULD    THE    SWORDFISH    BE 
PROTECTED 

For  many  years  .-inglers  at  Santa  Cata- 
lina  Island  considered  the  leaping  tuna 
the  finest  of  tlie  game  fish.  In  more 
recent  years,  attention  has  been  diverted 
to  the  swordfishes.  Meanwhile,  a  market 
has  developed  for  swordiish  and  a  number 
of  fishing  boats  ai-e  equipped  for  the  tak- 
ing of  these  great  predatory  fish.  Anglers 
now  claim  the  supply  has  diminished. 
Zane  Grey,  famous  author,  maintains  that 
anglers  are  leaving  Santa  Catalina  waters 
and  are  finding  better  sport  in  other 
places.  He  also  maintains  that  the  broad- 
billed  swordfish  should  be  protected  by 
law  and  its  sale  prohibited.  This  stand 
is  taken  not  to  furnish  a  few  millionaire 
sportsmen  with  some  game  fish  to  catch, 
but  on  the  basis  of  saving  a  valuable 
asset  of  California  wliich  furnishes  a 
great  advertising  medium.  The  big  fish 
of  southern  California  are  classed  along 
with  such  other  glories  of  the  Golden 
State  as  redwood  trees,  high  Sierra,  sun- 
shine and  good  roads. 

One  of  the  iwints  to  be  considered  in 
giving  the  swordfish  protection  is  that 
this  fish  has  never  been  abundant  and 
that  intensive  fishing  for  it  might  make 
depletion  more  rapid  than  when  an  abun- 
dant fish  is  considered. 

ABALONES     IN     DEMAND 

Statistics  which  have  just  been  com- 
piled by  the  Commercial  Fisheries  Bureau 
show  that  (luring  the  past  several  years 
over  2.000. (XK)  jjounds  of  abalone  meat 
have  been  t;iken  off  the  coast  of  Monterey. 

To  help  supply  demaml,  eight  abalone 
boats  deliver  to  four  of  the  nmrkets  at 
Monterey  that  are  equipped  to  handle 
abalone.  During  the  abalone  seas<in, 
which  lasts  from  March  16  to  January  15, 
one  of  these  lx)ats  will  bring  in  from  60 
to  250  dozen  market-size  abalones  each 
trip.  As  high  as  1600  dozen  abalones,  all 
alive  and  in  their  shells,  have  been  deliv- 


186 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND    GAME 


ered   by   the  eight   operating   boats  in   a 
single  day. 

Experience  has  shown  that  specifying 
an  eight-inch  niiuinmni  size  limit  on  aba- 
lones  taken  by  market  fishermen  does  not 
deplete  the  supply  to  any  extent,  for  by 
the  time  the  abalone  has  reached  that 
size  it  has  spawned  several  times,  and  is 
past  the  peak  of  productive  spawning. 
Weeding  out  at  that  size  may  actually  be 
beneficial  to  the  species.  Here  is  an  in- 
stance where  suitable  protection  has 
brought  about  conditions  which  allow  of 
a  large  annual  harvest  of  a  delicious 
shellfish  without  endangering  the  supply. 

TRANSPORTING  TOTUAVA  BY 
TRAINS 

The  totuava  or  ^Mexican  white  sea  bass 
is  now  being  transported  in  refrigerated 
railway  cars  from  Guaymas  to  San  Pedro, 
a  distance  of  about  800  miles.  This  is  a 
departure  from  the  old  method  of  hauling 
the  fish  over  the  long  journey  by  truck. 
The  trucks  which  are  used  to  haul  the 
fish  shorter  distances  are  now  also  being 
equipped  with  ice.  This  fish  is  caught 
in  the  Gulf  of  Lower  California  and  was 
originally  sought  mainly  by  native  In- 
dians for  their  sounds,  which  were  dried 
and  sold  to  Chinese  markets. 

NEW     COMMERCIAL     FISHERIES 
PATROL    BOAT 

Late  in  December  the  contract  to  build 
the  new,  up-to-date  patrol  boat  for  the 
Bureau  of  Commercial  Fisheries,  Division 
of  Fish  and  Game,  was  let  to  the  San 
Diego  Marine  Construction  Company  of 
San  Diego.  The  boat  was  designed  by 
L.  E.  Geary,  well-known  naval  archi- 
tect, from  rough  plans  by  Capt.  H.  B. 
Nidever,  and  is  a  substantial  service  boat, 
well  suited  to  the  business  of  enforcing 
the  state  fisheries  laws  and  to  carrying  on 
scientific  research.  Work  was  begun  on 
this  boat  immediately  and  she  will  be 
ready  for  service  early  in  May.  She  is 
86  feet  long,  with  a  beam  of  18^  feet, 
and  will  be  powered  with  a  200  h.p. 
Atlas-Imperial  engine  of  the  direct  re- 
versible Diesel  type.  The  budget  allow- 
ance for  building  the  boat  was  $00,000 
and  the  bid  of  the  San  Diego  company 
was  the  lowest  received,  it  being  $58,800. 

In  carrying  on  research  work  on  both 
sardines  and  tuna,  it  will  occasionally  be 
necessary  for  this  boat  to  travel  a  long 
way  from  a  fuel  ^supply,  and  she  is  there- 
fore equipped  with  fuel  tanks  which  give 
her  a  cruising  radius  of  0000  miles.  There 
are  accommodations  on  the  boat  for 
twelve  persons,  although  she  can  be  han- 
dled for  ordinary  cruising  by  four  per- 
sons.    The  extra  accommodations  are  for 


additional  deputies  for  special  patrol  work 
and  for  occasional  trips  of  scientific 
workers.  A  small  laboratory  is  provided 
and  a  special  feature  is  a  double-drum 
winch,  operated  by  a  7  h.p.  electric  motor, 
for  hydrobiological  work  in  connection 
with  the  sardine  and  other  fisheries  re- 
search. Each  drum  of  this  winch  carries 
1000  fathoms  of  5/10"  steel  wire  cable 
wliich  will  enable  the  boat  to  be  anchored 
in  very  deep  water  by  the  cable  of  one  of 
the  drums,  while  a  meter  for  determining 
the  currents,  and  nets,  water-bottles,  ther- 
mometers, etc.,  can  be  operated  at  all 
depths  at  the  same  time  by  the  cable  on 
the  other  drum. 

When  the  boat  is  put  in  commission  in 
southern  California,  the  Albacore,  which 
has  now  been  in  service  twelve  years,  will 
be  moved  to  northern  waters,  with  her 
base  at  Monterey.  She  is  to  be  equipped 
with  a  similar  double-drum  winch  for  con- 
tinuing the  cooperative  arrangement  be- 
tween the  Division  of  Fish  and  Game  and 
the  Hopkins  IMarine  Station  in  carrying 
out  a  hydrobiological  survey  of  the  Mon- 
terey Bay  region. — N.  B.  S. 

METHODS    OF    CONSERVING    FISHING 
RESOURCES 

The  following  brief  article  by  Lewis 
Radcliffe,  Deputy  Commissioner,  United 
States  Bureau  of  Fisheries,  splendidly 
suras  up  the  means  to  be  taken  to  prop- 
erly care  for  and  administer  the  fishery 
resources  of  state  and  nation  : 

The  abundance  of  fish  attracted  the 
early  explorers  to  our  country ;  in  fact  a 
cod  fishery  existed  prior  to  the  establish- 
ment of  the  first  permanent  English  col- 
ony in  this  country. 

When  the  Pilgrims  applied  for  a  char- 
ter for  the  Mayflower  from  King  James  of 
England,  they  asked  "leave  to  worship 
God  according  to  their  own  conscience, 
and  to  catch  fish."  W^ithout  an  abun- 
dant supply  of  sea  foods,  some  of  the 
early  settlements  would  have  been  de- 
stroyed from  starvation. 

At  one  period  the  fisheries  were  "the 
cornerstone  of  New  England's  prosper- 
ity." They  are  still  the  most  important 
resource  of  Alaska. 

Despite  the  richness  of  our  land  in 
aquatic  resources,  within  a  century  after 
the  signing  of  the  Declaration  of  Tude- 
pondeuce — on  February  9,  1871,  to  be 
exact — a  joint  resolution  of  congress  was 
approved  appointing  a  commissioner  of 
fish  and  fisheries  to  conduct  investigations 
to  determine  the  facts  and  the  causes  of 
the  alleged  diminution  of  the  fish  supply 
and  the  feasibility  of  remedial  measures. 

From  this  humble  beginning  there  has 
developed  the  Bureau  of  Fisheries  of  to- 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND   GAME 


187 


day,  devoting  itself  to  the  manifold  fish- 
eries problems — husbandry,  iiropaeation, 
fisheries  technology,  marketing  and  tl)o 
administration  of  the  fisheries'  of  Alaska 
and  the  fur-seal  herd  of  the  Pribilof  Is- 
lands. 

The  history  of  our  fisheries  during  the 
last  half  century  resolves  itself  into  three 
phases.  During  the  first  phase  the  fish- 
eries for  certain  staples  such  as  shad, 
sturgeon,  whitofish,  lake  herring,  lobsters 
and  oysters,  reached  their  maximum  pro- 
duction succeeded  by  a  downward  trend 
which  clearly  indicated  depletion.  The 
maximum  production  of  six  such  staples 
exceeded  370,000,000  pounds  as  compared 
with  a  present  level  of  less  than  1GO,0(JO,- 
000  pounds. 

During  the  second  phase  an  enlarged 
market,  created  by  a  rapidly  growing  pop- 
ulation and  other  factors,  made  additions 
to  the  stock  of  staples  necessary.  This 
was  accomplished  by  replacement  with 
hitherto  unused  or  neglected  species  on  a 
huge  scale. 

During  this  period  we  have  witnessed 
the  catch  of  pilchards  in  California  in- 
crease from  1,000,000  to  420,000,000 
pounds ;  the  growth  of  the  herring  in- 
dustry of  Alaska  to  nearly  80,000,000 
pounds ;  the  growth  of  the  fishei-y  for 
shrimp  in  the  South  Atlantic  and  Gidf 
states  to  70,000,000  pounds;  the  crab 
catch  of  Chesapeake  Bay  to  50,000,000 
pounds ;  the  haddock  fishery  of  New  Eng- 
land to  over  200,000.000  pounds  ;  and  the 
pike  perch  fishery  of  the  Great  Lakes  to 
27,000,000  pounds. 

With  the  end  of  the  second  phase, 
when  large  replacements  are  no  longer 
po.ssible,  we  are  entering  the  third  phase, 
which  is  characterized  by  an  era  of  more 
careful  husbandry  of  the  existing  supply 
and  the  development  of  aquiculture  as  a 
means  for  supplementing  the  natural 
stock. 

A  knowledge  of  these  phases  is  essen- 
tial to  an  understanding  of  the  fisheries, 
situation  as  it  now  exists.  The  care  and 
upbuilding  of  our  fisheries  involves  four 
main  phases : 

1.  Husbandry  of  the  existing  fishery 
resources. 

2.  Development  of  aquiculture  or  water 
farming. 

3.  Technical  research  to  assure  the  best 
use  of  our  fishery  products  and  uses  for 
the  neglected  products  of  the  sea. 

4.  Fishery  administration. 

PISMO  CLAM    CENSUS 

Low  tides,  accompanying  the  full  lunar 
stages  of  the  middle  of  November,  afforded 
opportunity  for  the  annual  clam-count  of 
Pismo  Beach.     W.   L.   Soofield,   director, 


and  several  staff  members  of  the  Califor- 
nia State  Fisheries  Laboratory,  gathered 
at  Pismo  on  Friday,  November  15,  1929, 
and  brought  out  rusty  clam  forks,  hard  old 
wading  shoes,  measuring  ropes  and  old 
work  clothes  in  preparation  for  the  chilly 
job  ahead.  The  plan  was  to  "make  the 
sections"  during  the  extreme  low  tide  of 
Sunday. 

This  busine.ss  of  ".sampling  the  beach" 
is  an  annual  happening.  The  thing  had 
its  commencement  some  years  ago,  and 
has  been  carried  on  ever  since.  The  way 
the  trick  is  done  is  to  rope  off  a  narrow 
strip  of  sand,  from  high  up  where  no 
clams  of  any  size  are  found,  to  as  far  out 
as  the  receding  waters  of  the  low  tide  will 
allow.  The  sand  between  the  two  parallel 
ropes  is  dug  up  and  run  through  a  sieve 
to  catch  all  of  the  clams,  no  matter  how 
small  they  are.  These  clams  are  counted, 
and  classified  as  to  age,  and  on  this  basis 
the  condition  and  clam  crop  of  the  whole 
beach  is  determined.  It  has  been  found 
that  either  because  of  surf  action  or  other 
causes  the  population  of  the  beach  is  kept 
quite  uniform  in  disbursement.  Of 
course,  the  "sections"  that  are  dug  up 
each  year  are  always  laid  out  at  the  same 
places  along  the  Pismo-ocean  shore.  The 
results  have  been  very  successful. — West 
Coast  Fisheries,  January,  1930. 

PROPORTIONS  OF  KING  AND  QUEEN 
FISH  IN  THE  SAN  PEDRO  WHOLE- 
SALE   FISH    MARKETS 

In  the  catch  records  gathered  by  the 
Bureau  of  Commercial  Fisheries,  the 
numbers  of  pounds  of  king  fish,  Genyone- 
mus  lineatus,  and  of  queen  fish,  Seriphus 
politus,  are  recorded  under  the  name  king 
fish.  To  determine  how  greatly  these 
records  were  in  error  for  the  San  Pedro 
catch,  an  analysis  was  made  of  the  pro- 
portions of  these  fish  delivered  to  the  San 
Pedro  fish  markets. 

The  study  was  carried  on  from  Decem- 
ber, 1928,  through  December,  1929.  In 
order  to  correlate  all  scientific  studies 
with  the  fishing  industry,  these  markets 
are  visited  semiweekly  by  the  writer.  In 
the  course  of  these  visits,  the  proportions 
of  king  and  queen  fish  were  estimated  on 
each  visit.  The  percentages  thus  secured 
were  weighted  by  the  amount  of  fish  ob- 
served, and  the  monthly  and  yearly  per- 
centages for  each  species  calculated.  The 
average  for  the  thirteen  months  involved 
in  the  study  was  98.98  per  cent  king  fish 
and  1.07  per  cent  queen  fish.  These  pro- 
portions were  relatively  constant  from 
month  to  month,  the  highest  percentage, 
5.25,  of  queen  fish  occurring  in  the  month 
of  Februai-y. 


6 — 74383 


188 


CALIFORNIA   FISH   AND    GAME 


Although  these  percentages  represent 
data  based  on  rather  rough  approxima- 
tions, it  is  evident  that  almost  the  entire 
catch  off  San  Pedro  of  these  two  species 
of  fish  is  composed  of  l<ing  tish.  Since 
queen  fish  occur  but  rarely  north  of  Point 
Concepcion  while  king  fish  are  taken  off 
Monterey  and  San  Francisco,  the  records 
for  the  northern  localities  involve  king 
fish  only.  Very  few  king  fish  are  reported 
from  San  Diego  and  the  error  involved  in 
classifying  king  and  queen  fish  under  the 
name  king  fish  is  practically  negligible 
for  the  southern  California  catch  and  also 
for  the  entire  state. — Frances  N.  Clark, 
California  State  Fisheries  Laboratory, 
Terminal  Island,  January,  1930. 

A    RECENT   PUBLICATION    ON    WHITE 
SEA  BASS.    FISH    BULLETIN   No.  21 

A  report  by  S.  S.  Whitehead  of  the 
California  State  Fisheries  Laboratory,  on 
an  "Analysis  of  Boat  Catches  of  White 
Sea  Bass  {Cynoscion  nohilis)  at  San 
Pedro,  California,"  has  recently  been 
published. 

This  investigation  was  carried  on  in 
order  to  determine  the  present  condition 
of  the  white  sea  bass  fishei-y.  The  pro- 
cedure used  was  a  calculation  of  the  re- 
turn per  unit  of  effort  for  each  year  of 
the  period  1918  to  1928.  In  order  to 
fully  understand  the  fishery,  a  study  of 
the  gear  and  fishing  methods  waS  also 
made.  The  yearly  total  catch  and  average 
yearly  boat  catch  (total  catch  divided  by 
total  number  of  boats  engaged  in  the  in- 
dustry) were  discussed  as  a  criterion  of 
the  fishery.  As  the  inaccui-acies  of  total 
catch  and  average  boat  catch  per  year 
were  too  numerous,  a  finer  method  of 
computation  was  found  necessary.  Both 
average  boat  catch  per  month  and  average 
boat  catch  per  trip  were  tried,  and  the 
former  was  chosen  as  the  more  accurate 
method  so  it  was  used  as  the  index  of  the 
condition  of  the  fishery.  Various  methods 
of  computing  the  average  monthly  boat 
catch  and  average  boat  catch  per  trip 
were  calculated  and  presented  in  graphic 
form. 

Both  the  mouth  and  trip  catches  by 
their  downward  trends  indicate  marked 
depletion  of  the  fishery,  and  show  the  need 
of  protection  to  insure  against  commer- 
cial extinction. 

Copies  of  this  publication  may  be  ob- 
tained by  writing  to  the  California  State 
Fisheries  Laboi'atory,  Terminal  Island. 

HERRING      IN      CARQUINEZ     STRAITS 

The  Pacific  herring,  Clupea  pallasii,  is 
found  in  considerable  numbers  in  Califor- 
nia in  Tomales,  San  Francisco,  Monterey, 
and   San  Diego  bays.     At  rare  intervals 


immense  runs  of  herring  are  reported. 
One  such  migration  occurred  in  Carquinez 
Straits  near  the  head  of  San  Francisco 
Bay  early  in  February,  1930.  Fortu- 
nately, a  trained  field  observer,  William 
Everson  of  Selby,  was  on  hand  to  record 
the  facts.  According  to  him,  nothing 
unusual  was  to  be  seen  on  Saturday,  Feb- 
ruary 8th,  but  the  next  day  incredible 
numbers  of  herring  were  to  be  seen  all 
along  the  Contra  Costa  County  shore 
from  Kodeo  up  to  Port  Costa,  a  distance 
of  seven  or  eight  miles.  The  heavy  run 
lasted  three  days,  after  which  the  numbers 
of  fish  became  fewer,  although  many  fish 
were  to  be  seen  for  three  more  days.  The 
fish  were  without  fear  and  could  be  ap- 
proached with  ease,  although  they  would 
not  take  bait  of  any  sort.  They  were  in 
such  large  numbers  that  people  using 
snag  hooks,  improvised  nets  and  pieces  of 
old  wire  netting,  had  no  trouble  in  pro- 
curing sacks  and  buckets  of  them.  One 
man  caught  150  pounds  in  an  hour  with 
an  ordinary  trout  landing  net.  Mr.  Ever- 
son filled  three  buckets  with  herring  by 
walking  along  the  shore  and  picking  them 
off  of  the  rocky  beach  where  they  had 
been  stranded.  The  fish  were  uniformly 
small,  seven  to  eight  inches  in  length 
being  the  usual  size.  The  uniformity  of 
size  suggests  a  successful  spawning  dur- 
ing a  recent  season.  According  to  old- 
timers,  the  last  run  comparable  at  all 
with  the  one  of  this  year  was  thirty-two 
or  thirty-three  years  ago,  and  was  similar 
in  all  respects.  Rumors  reported  large 
runs  at  Sausalito  and  at  the  mouths  of 
the  Russian,  Garcia,  and  other  rivers 
during  February. 

Spawning  was  evidently  the  reason  for 
the  fish  coming  to  the  shore.  Tony  Dow- 
rellio  of  Crockett  claims  to  have  found 
herring  spawn  on  the  rocks  along  the 
shore  in  other  years,  but  never  in  such 
large  amounts.  The  fish  spawned  in  shal- 
low water  up  to  high  tide  mark  on  rocks 
and  piles  but  not  on  sandy  or  mud  bottom. 
The  eggs,  which  are  about  one  millimeter 
in  diameter  in  the  ripe  fish,  swell  to  one 
and  one-half  uiillimeters  after  immersion 
in  the  water.  The  eggs  are  yellowish, 
and  although  not  sticky,  adhere  firmly  to 
the  rocks  and  to  each  other.  Nearly 
every  pile  and  rock  along  the  shore  was 
covered  with  half  an  inch  of  eggs  by  the 
time  the  run  ended.  In  places  the  depth 
of  the  egg  deposit  exceeded  two  inches. 
Mr.  Everson  visited  the  rocks  late  in 
February,  and  the  eggs  at  the  outer  edge 
of  the  layer  seemed  to  have  hatched,  but 
the  inner  ones  appeared  to  be  dead,  un- 
doubtedly suffocated. — Richard  S.  Cioker, 
California  State  Fisheries  Laboratory, 
Terminal  Island,  February,  1930. 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND   GAME 


189 


CANNING      OF      MACKEREL      DURING 
SARDINE  SEASON   AT  SAN    PEDRO 

It  is  well  known  that  almost  all  the 
sardines  landed  in  California  are  caught 
on  dark  nights.  Moonlight  is  too  bright 
to  permit  locating  schools  of  Hsh  by  the 
phosphorescence  in  the  water.  During 
the  full  moon  period  there  are  about  three 
daj-s  when  the  moon  shines  from  dusk  till 
dawn.  Besides  this  there  are  several 
more  days  when  the  dark  part  of  the  night 
is  exceedingly  short.  As  a  result  there  is 
a  period,  sometimes  as  long  as  ten  days, 
when  no  sardines  are  caught.  Prior  to 
the  1928-29  season  the  canneries  lay  idle 
during  these  periods.  However,  beginning 
in  October,  1928,  they  started  using  mack- 
erel as  a-  lill-in-product  during  full  moons. 
From  February  on  till  the  end  of  the 
season,  the  fishermen  are  usually  able  to 
catch  sardines  in  daylight,  thus  insuring 
a  continuous  supply.  As  a  result  mack- 
erel were  not  in  great  demand  during  the 
latter  part  of  the  1928-29  season.  The 
current  season  (1929-30)  is  not  over  yet, 
but  the  demand  for  mackerel  has  fallen 
off  greatly    (February  27,  1930). 

Mackerel,  unlike  sardines,  are  caught 
in  daylight  and  consequently  are  ideal  to 
fill  in  during  full  moon.  At  first  many 
boats  used  their  sardine  nets  to  catch 
mackerel.  Since  then  most  of  the  boats 
which  decided  seriously  to  fish  mackerel 
have  built  special  nets  for  this  purpose. 
The  mackerel  are  caught  principally  by 
the  smaller  sardine  boats  and  by  boats 
too  small  to  profitably  fish  sardines. 

During  the  summer  months  canneries 
use  large  quantities  of  mackerel  when 
tuna  are  not  being  brought  in,  or  even  at 
the  same  time  if  the  supply  of  tuna  is 
not  large. 

The  mackerel  catch  at  San  Pedro  was 
30,000,000  pounds  during  1928,  and  44,- 
000,000  in  1929.— D.  H.  Fry,  Jr.,  Califor- 
nia State  Fisheries  Laboratory,  Terminal 
Island,  February,  1930. 

MEXICAN  FISH    IN   SAN   PEDRO 
MARKETS 

The  San  Pedro  fish  markets,  always 
interesting,  are  particularly  attractive 
during  the  winter  months  when  the  large 
boats  which  fish  in  Lower  California  un- 
load their  catches  of  exotic  species  of  fish. 
This  year  more  than  ever  before  there  has 
been  an  increasingly  large  supply  of  spe- 
cies new  to  our  markets,  the  old  standard 
importations — barracuda,  yellowtail,  hali- 
but— losing  prominence  to  the  grouper, 
cabrilla,  shrimps,  totuava.  Compara- 
tively large  quantities  of  smaller  fish, 
such  as  the  tai,  mojarras,  robalo,  palo- 
meta,  Mexican  pompano,  Mexican  cor- 
bina,  Gulf  corbina,  scaly  tinned  corbina, 


have  augmented  our  local  supi)!y  of  mis- 
(■('llaiifous  species.  While  these  smaller 
fish  are  still  of  slight  importance  com- 
mercially, who  can  say  how  soon  the 
demand  for  local  species  (as  distinguished 
from  cannery  species)  will  exceed  the 
available  supply,  necessitating  a  more 
extensive  exploitation  in  waters  farther 
south? 

The  Mexican  fish  which  have  been  iden- 
tified during  .January  and  February,  1930, 
by  members  of  the  staff  of  the  California 
State  Fisheries  Lalwratory,  Terminal 
I.sland,  are  as  follows: 

Acanthocybium  solandri    (Wahoo) 
Anisotremus  cwsius  (Mexican  sargo) 
Uracil II deitter us  leuciscus   (Burrito) 
Calamus  brachysomus  (Mexiciin  tai) 
Cenfropomus  viridis  (Kobalo) 
Ci/noscion  macdonaldi  (Totuava) 
Cynoscion  othotiopterus  (Gulf  corbina) 
Cynoscion     parvipinnis      (Small-finned 
corbina) 

Cynoscion  xanthulus  (Scaly-finned  cor- 
bina) 

Epinephelus  analoyus  (Mexican  cab- 
rilla) 

Onathanodon  speciosus  (Mojarra  dor- 
ada) 

Kyphosns  analoc/us  (Salema) 
Micro pogon  ectenes   (Verrugato) 
Mugil  curcma  (White  mullet) 
Mycteroperca  sp.   (Grouper) 
Neomcpnis  aratus  (Striiied  snapper) 
Neomwnis  argentiventris   (Silver  snap- 
per) 

Neomwiiis  novemfasciatus  (Black  snap- 
per) 

Pomadusis  macrncanthus   (Buito) 
Scomberomorus  sierra  (Spanish  mack- 
erel) 

Trachinotus  kenncdyi  (Palometa) 
Traohinotus  paloma  (Pompano) 
Umbrina  xanti  (Roncador) 
Xysfcema    cincreum    (White    mojarra) 
— L.  A.  Walford,  California  State  Fish- 
eries   Laboratory,    Terminal,     February, 
1930. 

LARGE   PISMO    CLAMS 

Two  unusually  large  Pisnio  clams, 
Tivela  stultorum,  have  recently  been  sent 
to  the  California  State  Fisheries  Labora- 
tory, Terminal  Island.  These  clams  were 
taken  by  W.  G.  Williams  on  Grover 
Bar,  Pismo  Beach.  The  first  specimen, 
found  on  December  23,  1929,  measured 
172  mm.  (6.9  inches)  in  greatest  diam- 
eter, and  by  means  of  the  number  of  dark 
rings  in  the  shell,  was  estimated  to  be  27 
years  old.  If  this  age  is  correct,  this  con- 
stitutes the  oldest  Pismo  clam  on  record. 
The  second  individual,  also  secured  from 
(Jrover  Bar  on  Februai-j-  15,  1930,  meas- 
ured 183  mm.  (7.3  inches)  in  diameter. 
Xo  clam  equaling  this  size  has  been  re- 


190 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND    GAME 


corded  previously  in  the  Pismo  clam 
studies  of  the  Division  of  Fish  and  Game. 
While  the  largest  clam  on  record,  this 
latter  specimen  did  not  equal  in  age  the 
former,  being  apparently  only  23  years 
old. — Frances  N.  Clark,  California  State 
Fisheries  Laboratory,  February  21,  1930. 

RELATION  BETWEEN  COD  AND  HER- 
RING CATCHES  IN  THE  DANISH 
WATERS   OF   THE    BALTIC    SEA 

In  European  waters  the  cod  has  long 
been  considered  one  of  the  worst  enemies 
of  the  herring.  Several  investigations 
have  shown  that  cod  feed  upon  herring  to 
a  considerable  extent.  In  a  recently  pub- 
lished paper,  Aage  J.  C.  Jensen  '■  indicates 
an  association  between  the  herring  catch 
and  the  cod  catch  from  the  Danish  waters 
of  the  Baltic  Sea. 

By  means  of  detailed  tables  the  author 
of  this  paper  demonstrates  that  the  fluc- 
tuations in  the  yield  of  both  the  cod  and 
herring  fisheries  of  these  Danish  waters 
have  not  been  dependent  on  changes  in 
the  amount  of  fishing  gear  or  on  changes 
in  fishing  intensity  resulting  from  price 
fluctuations  during  the  period  1909-1927. 
The  total  catch  of  the  Danish  cod  and  her- 
ring is,  therefore,  indicative  of  the  size 
of  the  stock,  and  the  total  catch  records 
are  usable  to  demonstrate  the  relation 
between  the  cod  and  herring  catches. 

Herring  are  taken  by  nets  and  pound- 
nets,  drift-nets,  and  purse  seines.  The 
purse  seines  take,  as  a  rule,  a  larger 
quantity  of  small  and  young  herring  than 
do  the  other  types  of  gear.  The  net  and 
pound-net  catches  are  composed  of  some- 
what older  and  larger  fish,  and  the  drift- 
nets  take  the  largest  herring.  A  good 
yield  from  the  net  and  pound-net  fishery 
was  followed  by  a  good  yield  in  the  drift- 
net  fishery  in  the  same  and  the  following 
year,  which  is  explained  by  the  fact  that 
the  drift-nets  tend  to  take  older  fish  than 
do  the  net  and  pound-nets. 

By  means  of  careful  mathematical  an- 
alyses, a  negative  correlation  was  shown 
to  exist  between  the  total  cod  catch  and 
the  total  net  and  pound-net  herring  catch 
one  and  two  years  later.  A  similar  nega- 
tive correlation  existed  between  the  cod 
catches  and  the  drift-net  herring  catch 
two  and  three  years  later.  Thus  a  large 
cod  catch  was  followed  from  one  to  three 
years  later  by  a  poor  herring  catch.  Pre- 
sumably  the   cod   feed   mainly   on   small 


1  On  the  influence  of  the  size  of  the 
stock  of  cod  upon  the  yield  of  the  herring 
fishery  in  the  Kattegat,  Belt  Sea,  and 
western  part  of  the  Baltic,  and  some 
other  causes  of  variations  in  the  cod  and 
herring  fisheries.  Meddel.  Komm.  Hav- 
unders0gelser,  Serie :  Piskeri,  Bd.  8,  Nr.  8, 
pp.  1-16,  1929. 


herring  one  and  two  years  old,  while  the 
herring  do  not  become  an  object  of  the 
fishery  until  their  third  and  fourth  years. 
But  Jensen  points  out  that  other  causes 
than  abundance  of  cod  can  affect  the  her- 
ring fishery.  In  good  spawning  years  so 
many  herring  may  be  produced  that  even 
a  large  cod  stock  is  unable  to  prevent  a 
good  take  of  herring  in  later  years.  Con- 
versely, a  small  cod  stock  will  not  in- 
variably be  followed  by  a  large  herring 
catch,  for  poor  spawning  years  may  keep 
down  the  size  of  the  herring  stock. 

One  explanation  for  the  fluctuations  in 
the  cod  yield  is  suggested  in  the  high 
relationship  between  the  total  cod  catch 
and  water  temperatures  on  the  bottom 
four  years  previous.  High  water  tem- 
peratures were  followed  by  large  cod 
catches  four  years  later.  The  largest 
number  of  cod  fry  are  found  on  the  lowest 
water  layers,  and  possibly  the  higher 
water  tempei-atures  tend  to  produce  more 
favorable  conditions  for  the  survival  of 
the  fry. — Frances  N.  Clark,  California 
State  Fisheries  Laboratory,  Terminal  Is- 
land, January,  1930. 

RUSSIA      COMMENTS      ON      CALIFOR- 
NIA'S   COMMERCIAL    FISHERIES 

Interesting  statements  may  readily  be 
culled  from  a  French  or  German  scientific 
publication,  but  the  pages  of  a  journal 
printed  in  Russian  seldom  show  a  recog- 
nizable character.  However,  it  has  been 
possible  to  discover  that  in  the  "Report  of 
the  Scientific  Institution  of  Fisheries," 
Volume  3,  Number  4,  published  in  Mos- 
cow, there  is  an  article  "On  the  Methods 
of  Catching  the  White  Sea  Herring" 
which  contains  a  reference  to  fishing 
methods  used  in  California.  The  discov- 
ery was  made  easier  because  of  the  use  of 
two  sets  of  figures  which  appeared  in  an 
article  entitled,  "Methods  of  Sardine 
Fishing  in  Southern  California,"  Cali- 
fornia Fish  and  Game,  Volume  7,  Num- 
ber 4. 

There  is  also  to  be  found  a  bibliographi- 
cal citation  to  our  publication  at  the  end 
of  the  article.  As  far  as  we  are  aware, 
this  is  the  first  time  that  this  publication 
has  given  recognition  to  California  meth- 
ods of  fishing. 

SEA    LIONS    PROTECTED    IN    ALASKA 

Sea  lions  are  given  protection  in  Alaska 
by  the  federal  government.  The  killing 
of  these  animals  is  prohibited  in  the  Ter- 
ritoi-y  of  Alaska  or  in  any  of  the  waters 
of  Alaska  over  which  the  United  States 
has  jurisdiction.  Provision  is  made  that 
the  natives  may  kUl  these  animals  for 
food  or  clothing,  or  they  may  be  killed  in 
the  necessary   protection  of  property   or 


CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND   GAME 


191 


while  such  animals  "are  actually  engaged 
in  the  devastation  of  nins  of  salmon." — 
From  "Alaska  Fishery  and  Fur  Seal  In- 
dustries in  1928,"  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Fish- 
eries. 

SOME       NOTES      ON      THE      FOOD      OF 
SEALS    AND    SEA    LIONS 

A  questionnaire  was  recently  sent  to 
seal  and  sea  lion  hunters  by  the  Chamber 
of  Commerce  of  Port  Orford,  Oregon. 
The  men  who  returned  these  question- 
naires have  killed  thousands  of  seals  and 
sea  lions,  and  some  of  them  have  had  the 
curiosity  to  examine  the  stomach  con- 
tents. Their  unanimous  opinion  is  that 
the  present  Oregon  bounty  should  be  re- 
moved, as  the  seals  and  sea  lions  are  not 
destructive  to  commercial  fish  and  fishing. 
They  list  as  the  food  of  sea  lions,  skate, 
ling  cod,  snappers,  octopii,  squawfish,  red- 
fish  and  crabs. 


In  a  report  of  the  Chief  Inspector  of 
Fisheries  and  Game  of  Victoria,  Austra- 
lia (1929),  is  the  following  regarding  a 
species  of  fur  seal  found  in  Australian 
waters : 

"The  complaints  of  fishermen  that  the 
seals  are  a  serious  menace  to  the  fishing 
industry  on  the  Victorian  coast  have  not, 
in  my  opinion,  been  substantiated.  That 
there  is  some  interference  can  not  be 
denied,  but  it  would  appear  that  on  the 
whole  most  of  the  reports  have  greatly 
exaggerated  the  trouble.  *  *  *  Investi- 
gation has  proved  conclusively  that  seals 
will  and  do  eat  fish  whenever  they  get 
the  chance,  but  it  would  appear  that  the 
majority  of  the  commercially  valuable 
fish,  such  as  whiting,  pike,  snapper,  and 
so  on,  are  well  able  to  look  after  them- 
selves." 


In  the  Report  of  the  Sea  Fisheries  of 
Wales  for  1926,  appears  a  short  notice, 
under  the  heading  of  "Fishery  Pests." 
This  states  that  a  bounty  has  been  paid 
for  seals  (Phoca?),  when  the  stomach 
has  been  turned  in  with  the  scalp.  The 
report  states  that  "the  results  have  been 
inconclusive  inasmuch  as  all  the  animals 
had  been  feeding  on  some  species  of  pele- 


cepod."  This  statement  opens  the  way 
for  some  mild  sarcasm.  If  the  stomachs 
had  contained  coinmorcially  valuable  fish, 
the  result  would  no  doubt  have  been  con- 
clusive enough. 

All  the  investigations,  which  have  been 
made  by  competent  men,  regarding  the 
food  habits  of  the  seals  and  sea  lions  have 
resulted  in  showing  that  these  animals 
are  not  detrimental  to  commercial  fishing. 
Yet  ever  so  often,  a  furor  is  raised  and  a 
demand  made  that  the  seals  and  sea  lions 
be  killed,  as  they  are  consuming  vast 
quantities  of  valuable  fish. 

A  point  which  has  been  generally  over- 
looked is  that  during  the  last  century  the 
number  of  seals,  fur  seals  and  sea  lions 
killed  for  their  hides  and  oil  ran  into  the 
millions,  completely  exterminating  several 
species  and  reducing  others  to  the  point 
of  extermination. 

If,  after  these  millions  of  animals  have 
been  removed,  certain  species  of  fishes 
become  less  numerous,  the  logical  conclu- 
sion (to  a  biologist,  at  least),  is  to  at- 
tribute the  condition  to  the  animal  known 
to  take  these  fishes  in  vast  quantities, 
and  that  animal  at  present  is  Man. — Paul 
Bonnot,  510  Russ  Building,  San  Fran- 
cisco. 

A  CORRECTION 

In  the  article,  "Comparison  of  English 
and  United  States  Fishing  Ports,  1926- 
1927,"  by  Genevieve  Corwin,  appearing  in 
California  Fish  and  Game,  Volume  15, 
Number  4,  Portland,  Maine,  should  not 
have  been  included  in  the  comparison, 
since  the  landings  of  this  port  are  insuffi- 
cient to  figure  with  the  other  ports  listed. 

As  was  explained  in  the  article,  the  in- 
formation for  United  States  fishing  ports 
outside  of  California  was  obtained  from 
the  Statistical  Bulletins  of  the  United 
States  Bureau  of  Fisheries  (Nos.  729  and 
773).  Unfortunately  these  bulletins  do 
not  carry  an  explanation  that  the  figiires 
are  incomplete  and  due  to  the  fact  they 
cover  landings  by  vessels  of  five  net  tons 
or  over,  the  figures  for  Boston  and  Seattle 
would  be  augmented,  but  exactly  how 
much  is  not  known,  since  no  records  are 
kept  for  the  boats  smaller  than  five  net 
tons.— G.  C. 


192 


CALIFORNIA   FISH   AND   GAME 


SEIZURES  OF  FISH  AND  GAME 
October,  November,  December,  1929 


Abalone 

Barracuda,  pounds 

Ba8B,  striped- 

Bass,  striped,  pounds. 

Catfish,  pounds 

Clams 

Crabs 

Carp,  pounds 

Lobsters,  pounds 

Lobsters 

Nets, seines 

Salmon,  pounds 

Silmon._ 

Steelhead,  pounds 

Steelhead 

Sunfish 

Small  fish 

Spears  [illegal) 


1,089 

10,568 

261 

800 

75 

1,609 

57 

50 

1,297 

1,436 

5 

330 

81 

80 

11 

50 

51 

6 


Deer 

Deer  meat,  pounds. 

Doves 

Ducks 

Geese 

Hides 

Nets, bird 

Mudhens 

Pheasants 

Pigeons.. 

Nongame  birds 

Quail 

Rabbits 

SeagxilL. 

Shorebirds 

Swans 

Squirrels,  tree 

Traps,  steel- 


48 

302 

33 

759 

81 

14 

2 

3 

18 

2 

161 

69 

16 

1 

114 

3 

3 

4 


FISH  CASES 
October,  November,  December,  1929 


Violation 


Number 
arrests  ' 


Fines 
imposed 


Jail 

sentences 
(days) 


Violations  of  Angling  License  Act 

Abalone8;overlinut;  small 

Barracuda;  small 

Commercial  Fishing  License  Act;  violations  of. 

Claras;  overlimit;  small 

Crabs;  closed  season  ;fenjale.. 

Crappie ;  closed  season 

Lobsters;  small;  closed  season 

Nets;  set  lines; illegal 

Striped  bass;  small;  overlimit 

Spears;  fish; illegal 

Sunfish;  overlimit 

Salmon;  overlimit;  closed  season  shooting  of.. 

Small  fish , - 

Trout;  closed  season 

Totals - 


22 

52 

3 

24 

43 

2 

2 

40 
19 
37 
49 
2 

22 
2 
2 


321 


$510  00 

1,050  00 

250  00 

515  00 

1,475  00 

100  00 

25  00 

1,440  00 

1,360  00 

1,095  00 

940  00 

70  00 

435  00 

40  00 

50  00 


$9,355  00 


60 


5 

25 

12H 


102H 


GAME  CASES 
October,  November,  December,  1929 


Violations 


Number 
arrests 


Fines 
imposed 


Jail 

sentences 

(days) 


Violations  of  Hunting  License  Act 

Commercial  Gun  Club;  nolicense 

Deer;  spike  buck,  does,  fawns,  killing  of;  failure  to  tag;  closed  season 

Do  ves;closed  season 

Ducks;  illegal  shooting  day;  over  limit;  selling  of 

Geese;  closed  season;  overlimit... -. 

Nongame  birds;  killing  of. 

Quail;  closed  season;  trapping  of 

Rabbits;  closed  season... 

Refuge;  firearms  in;  killing  deer  in 

Pheasants;  killing  of 

Pigeons ;  closed  season 

Pollution  of  streams — - 

Night  hunting 

Shore  birds;  lolling  of 

Swan;  killing  of 

Shooting  from  auto;  motor  boat 

Trepassing  on  posted  grounds 

Trapping  License  Act;  violations  of — 

Tree  squirrels;  killing  of — 

Woodducks;  killing  of 

Totals 


130 
2 

87 
9 

15 
5 

51 

27 
7 
9 

10 
1 
2 

37 

53 
1 
8 

14 
9 
6 
4 


$3,750  00 

50  00 

5,090  00 

290  00 

430  00 

125  00 

1,620  00 

1,330  00 

125  00 

250  00 

800  00 

100  00 


885  00 
1,195  00 

50  00 
185  00 
340  00 

95  00 
175  00 

50  00 


487 


$16,935  00 


25 
'400 


60 
30 


516 


CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND   GAME 


193 


REPORTS 


STATEMENT  OF  EXPENDITURES 
For  the  Period  July  1, 1929  fo  December  31. 1929  of  the  Eighty-first  Fiscal  Year 


Function 


Adnunistration: 

Executive  and  legal 

Clerical  and  office 

Printing 

Automobiles 

Traveling 

Postage .... 

Telephone  and  telegraph 

Freight,  cartage  and  express. 

Rent 

Heat,  light  and  power 

Accident  and  death  claims... 

Accounting  pro  rata 

Legal 


Total  administration. 


Education  and  research: 

Chief  and  assistant 

Clericaland  office 

Traveling 

Photographer 

Librarian 

Publicity..- 

Exhibits 

Research 

State  fair 

Freight,  cartage  and  express. 
Lecturers 


Total  education  and  research- 


Publicity: 
Chief  of  Bureau. 
Traveling 


Total  publicity. 


Patrol  and  law  enforcement: 

Chief  and  assistants 

Clericaland  office 

Automobiles 

Traveling 

Captains  and  deputies 

Fish  planting 

Watchmen 

Launches 

Volunteer  deputies 

Premiums  on  bonds 

Freight,  cartage  and  express - 
Rent. 


Total  patrol  and  law  enforcement. 


Commercial  fisheries: 

Chief  and  assistants 

Clericaland  office 

Automobiles 

Traveling 

Research 

Captains  and  deputies 

Launches 

Statistics 

Laboratory 

Fish  tags; 

Postage- 

Botulism.. - 

Freight,  cartage  and  express . 

Heat,  light  and  power - . 

Inspectors 


Salaries 

and 

wages 


Materials 

and 
supplies 


$8,409  96 
8,964  45 


3,535  00 


$20,909  41 


$3,291  94 
1,092  00 


600  00 
960  00 


1,825  00 
276  00 


1,620  00 


$9,664  94 


$1,650  00 


$1,650  00 


$6,630  00 
1,450  00 


105,583  27 

1,602  66 

30  00 

1,020  00 

425  00 


$118,740  93 


$5,250  00 
4,469  39 


3,302  50 
7,990  00 
2,490  00 
1,470  00 
15,589  50 


15,512  11 


$618  38 

2,755  40 

150  62 


Service 

and 
expense 


$24  70 
570  28 


$3,524  40 


$76  34 


81  48 


110  86 
260  71 


$529  39 


$90  56 
1,471  87 


231  04 
388  81 


518  75 


$2,701  03 


$96  87 
171  47 


62  98 
947  28 
299  00 
337  72 
412  50 


Total  commercial  fisheries -'    $56,073  50  |     $2,327  82 


11  40 
2,385  52 
1,947  96 
2,211  87 
1,398  08 
8,732  15 
132  38 
2,192  02 


319  45 


$19,925  81 


$10  00 

114  76 

1,581  23 

176  25 

20  00 

2  00 

30  00 


800  35 
2  00 


$2,736  59 


$253  61 
39  40 


$293  01 


$12  64 

790  62 

70,614  05 

1,091  88 

998  00 


210  36 


1.255  00 

4  77 
95  18 


$75,072  50 


Property 

and 
equipment 


$102  85 


$102  85 


$296  37 


593  27 
45  24 


30  70 


$965  58 


$205  15 
828  00 


$1,033  15 


$48  59 

61  21 

9,158  23 


10  62 
896  84 


908  95 


20  00 

7,500  00 

28  07 

2  U 


$21  08 
506  02 


18  00 
4  70 


158  18 


Total 


$8,434  66 

10,255  96 

2,755  40 

162  02 

2,385  52 

1,947  96 

2,211  87 

1,398  08 

8,732  15 

132  38 

2,192  02 

3,535  00 

319  45 


$44,462  47 


$3,301  94 
1,579  47 
1,581  23 
1.369  52 
1,106  72 

2  00 

30  00 

1,966  56 

1,337  06 

2  00 
1.620  00 


$13,896  50 


$1,903  61 
39  40 


$1,943  01 


$6,630  00 

1,553  20 

2,262  49 

70,614  05 

107,111  34 

3,817  47 

30  00 

1.749  11 

425  00 

1.255  00 

4  77 

95  18 


$195,547  61 


$5,250  00 

4,635  93 

738  70 

9.158  23 

3,302  50 

8,081  60 

4,338  82 

1,769  00 

16,994  35 

412  50 

20  00 

7.500  00 

28  07 

2  11 

15,512  11 


$18,634  62 


$707  98  I     $77,743  92 


194 


CALIFORNIA   FISH   AND   GAME 


STATEMENT  OF  EXPENDITURES— Continued 
For  the  Period  July  1,  1929  to  December  31,  1929  of  tlie  Eighty-firsl  Fiscal  Year 


Function 

Salaries 

and 

wages 

Materials 

and 
supplies 

Service 

and 
expense 

Property 

and 
equipment 

Total 

Fish  culture: 

Chief  and  assistants .-       - 

$3,300  00 
1,950  00 

$3,300  00 

Clerical  and  office _ 

$31  08 
2,793  87 

$4  00 

1,093  08 

6,966  76 

418  83 

662  13 

451  62 

1,923  16 

$3  05 
1,227  50 

1,988  13 

5,114  45 

Traveling. 

6,906  76 

Telephone  and  telegraph 

418  83 

Rent                              

662  13 

Heat  light  and  power 

451  62 

67,469  39 

33,988  93 

2,361  95 
332  00 

105,743  43 

Hatcheries — additions  and  bettennenta 

332  00 

Special  field  investigations.     . 

5,780  00 

18  97 
105  59 

218  08 

1,203  84 

3  90 

212  24 

6,017  05 

Fish  cars 

1,309  43 

3  90 

212  24 

Total  fish  culture 

$78,499  39 
$2,970  00 

$36,938  44 

$13,157  64 

$18  37 
26  50 
78  55 

782  83 
36  15 
13  23 

$3,924  50 

$132,519  97 

Hydraulics: 
Chief  and  assistants  .  - 

$2,988  37 

$14  42 
225  29 

40  92 

303  84 

Traveline                   _  -  _                             _  _ 

782  83 

Cooperative  research 

1,500  00 

2  10 

1,538  25 

13  23 

Total  hvdraulica 

$4470  00 
$2,060  00 

$241  81 

$955  63 

$5,667  44 

Game  propagation: 
Superintendents 

$2,060  00 

$219  41 

$21  88 
1,472  53 

228  54 

$864  51 

1,105  80 

1,472  53 

Heat,  light  and  power ,. 

228  54 

Laborers                --- 

3,695  27 

3,695  27 

3,882  77 

270  31 
27  67 

1,364  83 

5,517  91 

Telephone  and  telegraph 

27  67 

Total  eame  propaeation 

$5,755  27 
$2,419  00 

$4,102  18 

$2,020  93 

$102  60 

1,047  91 

69  00 

$2,229  34 
$4  10 

$14,107  72 

Fish  rescue: 
Chief  and  assistants 

$2,525  70 

1,047  91 

Rent           - 

69  00 

Total  fish  rescue 

$2,419  00 

$1,999  98 
900  00 

$1,219  51 

$4  10 

$3,642  61 

Game  refuge: 
Chief  and  assistants 

$1,999  98 

$0  20 
293  98 

$1  25 
262  82 
813  33 

901  45 

Autonnobiles 

556  80 

Traveline           _-     .     ,_ 

813  33 

Lion  hunters  and  trappers 

3,540  12 
1,393  42 

3,540  12 

73  33 
40  58 

1,466  75 

Grame  refuge  supplies 

40  58 

Lion  bounties 

2,320  00 

2,320  00 

Total  came  refuce 

$7,833  52 

$408  09 

$3,397  40 
$23,868  60 

$11,639  01 

license  commissions ._ 

23.868  60 

Game  ref uees 

3,928  08 

Construction  of  Russian  River  jetties 

17,750  00 

Expenditures  to  pay  claims  for  return  of  fish 

83  50 

Expenditure  to  pay  claim  of  Harry  L.  Hopper . . 

658  50 

Prior  year 

132,529  93 

Grand  total 

$679,988  87 

CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND   GAME  195 

STATEMENT  OF  INCOME 

For  the  Period  July  1, 1929  to  December  31, 1929  of  the  Eighty-first  Fiscal  Year 

License  sales:  Detail               Total 

Angling,  1929 - : -- $329,783  95 

Hunting,  1929 - 298,030  87 

Market  fishermen'slicenses,  1929-1930 25,250  00 

Wholesale  fish  packers' and  shell  fish  dealerBM928-1929 20  00 

Game  breeders' licenses,  1929 105  00 

Fish  breeders' licenses,  1929 - 75  00 

Trapping  licenses,  1929-1930 — 3,138  00 

Commercial  hunting  club,  1929-1930 - 2,565  00 

Commercial  hunting  club  operators',  1929-1930 -.- 730  00 

Deer  tag  licenses,  1929 107,204  80 

Kelplicenses,  1929 - - 10  00 

Fish  importers' licenses,  1929 - 55  00 

Wholesale  fish  packers'  and  shell  fish  dealers'  licenses,  1929-1930 1,065  00 

Angling  licenses,  1930 _ 89  00 

Hunting  licenses,  1930... - 262  00 

Total  license  sales $768,383  62 

Other  income: 

Game  tag  sales -- J23  01 

Court  fines 49,489  94 

Fish  packers' tax - - 50,211  51 

Kelp  tax - 51  13 

Fisbtagsales 1.755  54 

Miscellaneous  sales 376  80 

Interest  on  bank  balances 3,168  04 

Total  other  income $105,075  97 

Total  departmental  income - $873,459  59 


196 


CALIFORNIA    FISII    AND    GAME 


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BUREAU  OF  PATHOL 


E.  L.  MACAULAY,  Chief  of  Patrol San  Francisco 

K.  P.  Allred,  Assistant  Chief  of  Patrol San  Francisco 

C.  S.  Bauder,  Assistant  Chief  of  Patrol Los  Angeles 

Walter  R.  Welch,  Captain,  In  Charge  Volunteer  Wardens San  Francisco 


SAN  FRANCISCO  OFFICE 

C.  L.  Bundock Hollister 

J.  L..   Bundock Oakland 

M.  S.  Clark Niies 

A.  G.  Curry San  Francisco 

T.  K.  Duncan Concord 

C.  E.  Holladay Morgan  Hill 

M.  F.  Joy Burllngame 

I.  L.  Koppel San  Jose 

G.  O.  Laws Weaverville 

McPherson  Lough MayfleUl 

Forrest  J.  McDermott Santa  Cruz 

R,  C.  Marshall Monterey 

C.  R.  Peek San  Francisco 

Fred  Post Salinas 

J.  C.  Schneider King  City 

J.  P.  Vissiere Watsonville 

S.  H.  LYONS Sacramento  Office 

E.  I.  Hiscox Nevada  City 

Nelson   Poole Sacramento   Office 

Albert  W.  Sears Placerville 

Chas.    Sibeck Sacramento    Office 

R.  L,  Sinkey Woodland 

A.  H.  Willard Rocklin 

WM.   LIPPINCOTT Eureka 

Ray  Diamond Crescent  City 

Scott  Feland Fortuna 

Wm.   J.   Harp Areata 

Ed.  Clements Requa 

Wm.  F.  Kaliher Hayfork 

R.  J.  Yates Euieka 

S.  R.  GILLOON Mt.   Shasta 

C.  R.  Love Redding 

Brice  Hammack Yreka 

A.  A.  Jordan Alturas 

Ralph    Newsome Hamburg 

Fred    Starr Macdoel 

S.  J.  CARPENTER Maxwell 

Roy  W.  Anderson Orland 

Lee  Atkinson Arbuckle 

Harry  N.  Brittan Red  Bluff 

L.  W.  Dinsdale Yuba  City 

Taylor  London Oroville 

A.  D.  Miner Gridley 

J.   V.    Shearin Stonyford 

A.  J.  Stanley Chico 

J.    D.    DONDERO Lakeport 

Earl    Caldwell Covelo 

Ovid  Holmes Fort  Bragg 

Geo.  N.  Johnson Napa 

Earl   Macklin Ukiah 

L.  A.  Mitchell Point  Arena 

K.  J.  Ransdell Calistoga 

HENRY  LENCIONI Santa  Rosa 

J.  H.  Groves Cloverdale 

V.  E.  Vox  Arx Sebastopol 

W.   B.   SELLMER Fairfax 

Wm.    H.    Dyer Crockett 

C.  M.  Bouton San  Rafael 

Bert  F.  Laws San  Rafael 

Lee  Straight Vallejo 


JOSEPH  H.  SANDERS Truckee 

C.  O.  Fisher Susanville 

W.  I.  Long Wi'Stwood 

L.  B.  Mercer Portola 

O.   T.   Schumacker Loyalton 

J.  E.  NEWSOME Newman 

H.  E.  Black Madera 

C.  L.  Brown Mariposa 

C.   L.   Gourley (ju.stine 

L.  W.  Longeway Sonora 

Geo.  W.    Magladry Modesto 

R.    C.   O'Connor Merced 

H.   I.   Pritchard Atwater 

John  W.  Davison Los  Banos 

J.    O'CONNELL Stoctkon 

W.   J.   Black Jackson 

Wm.   A.   Clark Vacaville 

Frank  A.   Carillo Murphys 

Alvin  Granstrom Ryde 

Wm.  Hoppe Walnut  Grove 

Geo.   R.    Smalley Tracy 

E.    W.    SMALLEY Hanford 

F.  A.  Bullard Reedley 

Ray  C.   Ellis Fresno 

H.  S.  Vary Coalinga 

O.   P.  BROWNLOW Visalia 

A.  R.  Ainsworth Taft 

Lester    Arnold Bakersfleld 

Ray    J.    Bullard Porterville 

Vernon  R.    Sutton Kernville 

Roswell  C.  Welch Tehachapl 

E.  C.  Vail Dinuba 

LOS  ANGELES   OFFICE 

R.  E.  Bidwell Ventura 

C.    S.   Donham Escondido 

Walter  R.  Emerick Santa  Paula 

E.  H.   Glidden San  Diego 

J.  H.  Gyger Perris 

T.   R.   Jolley Indio 

K.    K.   Langford Victorville 

R.   J.    Little Banning 

W.  C.  Malone San  Bernardino 

Webb  Toms San  Diego 

L.  T.  WARD Santa  Barbara 

W.  C.  Blewett San  Luis  Obispo 

F.  L.  Brians Santa  Maria 

Walter  Goff Paso  Robles 

E.  H.  OBER Big  Pine 

A.  F.  Crocker Bridgeport 

W.   S.   Talbot Mammoth 

J.  W.  Thornburg Lancaster 

C.  J.  Walters Independence 

LARUE  F.  CHAPPELL Pasadena 

W.  E.  Adkinson El  Toro 

E.  A.  Chan Long  Beach 

L.  W.  Hare Santa  Ana 

R.  J.  Sadler Venice 

C.  Savage Ontario 

C.  L.  Towers Los  Angeles 


Launch  Patrol 

C.  M.  Bouton : Launch   "Qulnnat,"   San   Kafael 

Lee  Straight Launch  "Hunter,"  Vallejo 

Wm.   Hoppe Launch  "Rainbow,"   Walnut  Grove 

San  Francisco  Office Launch  "Walter  R.  Welch,"  San  Francisco 

Captains  indicated  in  capitals. 


CALIFORNIA  STATE  PRINTING   OmCE 
SACRAMENTO.   1930